He Wears a Pair of Silver Wings
by AmericanKurosaki
Summary: WWII based story. Roderich is just an average person, having the same fears as everyone else. The German army scares him along with his family, until he meets a lieutenant who is completely different. He's just a bit more awesome than the rest. Prussia/Austria PrussiaXAustria AustriaXPrussia Human names used.
1. Chapter One

Roderich sat at the piano, no… His _home_, playing a soft tune throughout the room. He let his fingers glide across the piano keys to their own accord, keeping everyone in the room at peace. Despite what was going on in the world around them, most of the people in the small Italian village would come to hear Roderich play the piano. It kept them at peace.

The doors of the small pub slammed open, making the pianist make a horrid sound on the keys, and everyone was dead silent.

"Here come the soldiers…" One of the bartenders sighed, totally unamused.

"The awesome lieutenant is here! I get first rounds!" A loud German accented voice yelled.

Roderich turned around, staring the said lieutenant.

He had a dull grey Luftwaffe jacket, decorated with badges. He had white hair and pretty pale skin, topped off with crimson eyes.

"Roderich, keep playing! Dumbass…"

"Ve~ Lovino! You're being so mean to him!"

He rolled my eyes, placing his hands on the ivory keys. He had just begun to play, when that damn German started yelling again.

"I think the awesome me should get another free drink!"

"Ah! Of course!"

More soldiers piled in, and one of them smacked the lieutenant in the back of the head, yelling at him angrily in German.

Roderich had stopped playing all together, watching as the Germans piled in. Looked like the whole damn Luftwaffe was here!

It still scared Roderich to be in the presence of any kind of German military member.

His name _was_ Roderich Edelstein. He's a Jew who fled from Austria, fearing the Germans would invade his country. He stopped in Italy, only for rest, and he spilt his story to a small Italian named Feliciano Vargas.

That's how he ended up here. His new name is Roderich Vargas, and he lives with the Italian family, playing piano for them in their small bar.

It scares him, knowing Germans are everywhere, but Feliciano always offers to listen to Roderich play piano, it calms both of them.

"Roderich, are you okay?"

Speaking of the small Italian.

The Austrian looked to his side, Feliciano had sat down on the stool next to him, a small smile on his face.

"I'm fine, Feliciano. Thank you for your concern." Roderich smiled weakly.

"Alright, can I still hear you play piano though? That first lieutenant scared me…" He said softly, looking to his lap.

"Eh? That red-eyed one? Feliciano, did he yell at you?"

"N-no! He was just a little loud, he yelled at another German. When he demanded me for free drinks, that tall blonde one came and hit him in the head! Then he gave us a lot of money!" Feliciano grinned. "I'm just… Um…"

"Overwhelmed?" Roderich offered.

"Ci!"

The Austrian smiled, nodding, placing his fingers on the keys. "I'll play for you, Feliciano."

"Is it the song I like?"

"You say you like all of the songs I've played." Roderich chuckled.

"Well, I really liked the last one you played, remember? Back at home, after what happened in town…?"

The Austrian shuddered, remembering the horrible events. Two SS officers had pulled an Italian man to the center of the village, shooting him in front of everyone.

"Yes… I'll play it for you, Feliciano."

Fingers glided across the keys, emitting a familiar tune to everyone, even stopping the Germans to listen. Feliciano knew the words, so he sang softly in tune with Roderich's piano.

They finished, and a few of the German's clapped, going back to their drinks.

"What's that song called? I've heard it a lot, but never knew what it was called." The Italian asked.

"Oh, it's called-"

"_En tragt ein Paar Silver Wings_."

The two looked over, it was the blonde pilot Feliciano had referred to.

"Do you speak English? Italiano?" Feliciano asked softly.

"_He Wears A Pair of Silver Wings._" The pilot nodded.

"That's right, thank you, Sir." Roderich offered a nervous smile.

"It's not even a song on piano, either. You made it into your own version, great job." He nodded, looking to Feliciano. "You we're great at singing, too."

"O-oh… Thank you, sir!" The Italian blushed.

Feliciano always gets flustered when people compliment his singing.

"Could you two do a request? I'll pay you for it."

"Oh, no money is needed, what song would you like, Sir?"

"_Coming In On A Wing and A Prayer_?"

Feliciano's brown eyes lit up, and he grinned, turning to Roderich.

"You're really good at that song! Let's play it! Please, can we play it!?"

The Austrian smiled, nodding, turning to the keys, placing his fingers on them. He started to play, and Feliciano began to sing on his cue.

The two accepted song requests from numerous Germans, playing for hours as the pilots came and went.

The Italian's throat started to hurt a little, so he left Roderich to play the piano on his own. Roderich glanced up at Feliciano through his glasses, noticing he was happily talking to the blonde German. He finished up his last song, and the pub started to get cleaned up.

The pilots left silently, and Feliciano couldn't stop grinning.

"What's happened Feliciano? You seem happier than usual." Roderich smirked, polishing the counter with him.

"It's the pilot! His name is Lieutenant Bieldschmidt. I call him Ludwig though! He's coming back tomorrow."

"Ah, you've made a friend?" The Austrian smiled genuinely.

"Yeah!"

They talked and cleaned up, the radio playing softly.

"Lovino! We're done!" Feliciano called.

"I don't care! Go to bed!"

Roderich rolled his eyes. Feliciano sighed, and started walking to the staircase.

"Hey, aren't you coming, Roderich?"

"I'm actually going to go for a walk, want to join me?" The Austrian offered, stopping at the front doors.

"No, just come back safe, alright? Bye!" Feliciano grinned, waving.

Roderich grinned back, his cheeriness is so contagious. He opened the front door, and stepped into the cool air. The village was pretty quiet, apart from the few Germans roaming around.

Roderich began walking through the town, looking around at all of the shops shutting. Sometimes silence was all he needed, it felt good.

The Austrian stopped at the fountain in the middle of the small village, and sat on the edge, listening to the water trickle.

He was so lost in thought, just about everything.

The war, that loud pilot in the pub, playing songs for the Germans, everything possible.

"Oi! Bieldschmidt!" A husky voice called.

He opened his eyes, looking around. His framed eyes were focused on a German pilot, smirking to his friend.

That tall, pale, red-eyed pilot.

They spoke in German, which Roderich was quite fluent in. He panicked at their words, the slightly shorter brunette was talking about very repulsive things.

It loosely translated to, 'Want to beat the shit out of this guy? He looks like a pansy!'

The red-eyes man snorted, punching the other on the shoulder, scolding him.

As they were arguing, Roderich took his chance to leave, getting up and backing away slowly.

"Oi!"

He froze, looking back, the tall one was walking over to him.

"E-eh! I uh, d-don't speak G-German…?" Roderich lied, stuttering.

"Oh, that's no problem. I speak English too. Anyways, what are you doing out here all alone? If the awesome me wasn't here, you could've been battered! That wouldn't have been very awesome." He smirked, standing in front of the Austrian.

"U-uh… I just wanted to come for a walk, I apologize! I should be inside!"

"Woah! Stop panicking, I'm too awesome to hurt anyone for no reason. That's so not awesome!"

The Austrian was silent, shaking in his spot. He didn't make eye contact with the pilot, he couldn't bring himself to.

"Hey, why don't I walk you home? My awesomeness will protect you." He offered, his voice lowering a few decibels.

"Eh!? I-I couldn't ask f-for that! I'll g-go! Thank you!" Roderich said quickly, trying to side-step.

The pilot grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Here, let me introduce myself. Even though you should already know who I am, I'm so awesome. I'm Gilbert Bieldschmidt, or Lieutenant Bieldschmidt. I'm nineteen years old, and I'm awesome!" He grinned proudly. "See, I even have an iron cross to prove how awesome I am!"

Roderich stared at the cross in horror, noting the engraves swastika on it.

"Hey, am I too awesome? What's your name?"

"O-oh! Sorry, Lieutenant Bieldschmidt! I'm Roderich Vargas, I'm eighteen and I play piano in a pub!" The Austrian said quickly, taking deep breaths.

"Woah! You were the pianist in that pub!? You're awesome! Well, not as awesome as me of course! Here, I'll walk you back." He flashed another smile, pulling Roderich forward by his arm.

They walked in silence for a bit, until the German got bored.

"So, you sound Austrian. Are you from that area? The people there are so un-awesome! They're all stuck up…" Gilbert huffed.

"U-um, yes…" He nodded.

"What made you come here, and how is your last name Vargas if you're from Austria?"

_Lie._

"My uh, parents died about twelve years ago. The Vargas family went to Austria for some er… Spices. The youngest son found me, and asked his grandfather if they could keep me. So I moved here."

"Oh, sounds hectic, not awesome. Do you all work at the pub?" The heavily accented voice asked.

"Yes, Sir."

"Ew, just call me Gilbert. I hate being called Sir, so not awesome. It's only okay when other pilots, and other ranking Germans call me Lieutenant Bieldschmidt, or Sir."

"I apologize! Forgive me!" Roderich pleaded, looking away.

"Ah, it's fine, Roddy! Look, there's the pub. Nice to meet you. Share with the world about my awesome good deed!" The German grinned stupidly.

"Yes, thank you, Si- Er, _Gilbert_."

The lack of respect in that title made Roderich want to cringe, but it's what the lieutenant wanted.

"Bye, Specs!" The German waved, turning on his heel.

Roderich stiffened, he really referred to his glasses like that!? He may be a regular person, but you should _never_ refer to him by his spectacles!

He gritted his teeth, he can't yell at a lieutenant. He opened the door to the pub and locked it behind himself.

He changed into his night-wear, and slid into his bed. He was careful not to wake Feliciano, who was sleeping in the bed next to his own, with Lovino by his side.

He placed his specs on the small bedside table, and went to sleep. The thoughts of that stupid, obnoxious, yet incredibly scary German lieutenant passing though his head as he went to bed.


	2. Chapter Two

"Roderich, please get up."

The Austrian stretched his body out, and opened his eyes, blurry surroundings coming into sight. He reached for his specs, placing them on the bridge of his nose, and looking to the Italian who woke him up.

"Morning." Feliciano smiled.

"Good morning, Feliciano." Roderich nodded, stretching his muscles further.

"I'm sorry it's such short notice, but Lovino is being mean again. I need to stay back and clean, can you go and see if they have any pasta ingredients in the market? Tomatoes too." The small Italian looked to Roderich apologetically.

The other sat up, swinging his legs off of the bed. He stood up, ruffling the smaller-man's hair.

"Of course I will. Are we open today?"

"Oh, not until three. Were you going to go on another walk?" Feliciano asked cheerfully, cocking his head to the side.

"Yes, is that okay with you?" Roderich asked, smiling back to his friend.

"Of course it is! You must be stressed all the time. I can understand your need for silence, you know, in your current situation." The smaller man shrugged, twirling his stray strand of hair.

"Thank you, Feliciano. I won't be long, I'll be back by noon." Roderich promised.

That seemed to be enough for the Italian, grinning as he skipped out of the room.

Roderich got cleaned up for his trip to the market, and possibly a walk on his favorite hill. That hill had so many memories, just the thought of it made him smile. He grabbed the small basket from the top shelve above everyone's beds, and slipped his shoes on. The Austrian strode the front door, Feliciano and Lovino nowhere in sight.

"I'm heading out, Feliciano!" He called over his shoulder, receiving a happy farewell in return.

The small Italian skipped from the supplies closet, and started wiping dust off of everything.

Roderich smiled at Feliciano's cheerfulness. Over everything, he's always so kind and happy.

Roderich walked through the waves of people, all of them smiling and happy. The village was so collected. There were only a select few who were truly depressed. Well, all of them were stressed, on way or another, but most didn't show it.

The Austrian glided into the market, looking for pasta ingredients and tomatoes. Through his search, he ended up with a decent amount of things. Feliciano would be able to make pasta for a few weeks with this. He was even able to find some chocolate. The man said that some Germans were nice enough to donate it to them, they received it in their ration gifts. He could only get one piece, but he didn't really like chocolate, it was more for Feliciano and Lovino.

Roderich headed away from the market, and through the bustling Italians. The trail to his hill was on the edge of town, and it was a few miles away from the village as well, though it was just close enough to watch over the village. That only made it more perfect for him.

He walked down the lonely dirt path, smiling to himself in bliss. Roderich arrived, and just stood, smiling at his favorite place in the world. The long, emerald grass was swaying in the wind, like dancers at a ball. The wind whistled quietly, and birds sang in the distance.

He couldn't be more happy with this hill. It held memories of the last three years. He and Feliciano found the hill when they were sixteen, when the war first started back in 1939. It was only Roderich's first week living with the Vargas family, but he and Feliciano had become great friends. They spent every day they could on the hill, playing around, making jokes, and Roderich would even tell Feliciano about what it was like back in Austria.

In 1040, a French boy named Francis had come to live in the village with his family, he was eighteen, a year older than the other two. He found the hill too, and met the two there, instantly becoming an amazing group of friends.

He told them about his German friend joining the Luftwaffe, and his Spanish friend joining the Italian Resistance. One time, he and Roderich went alone, and he had his first kiss.

Not by choice of course, the French boy just grabbed him and kissed him smack on the lips. That day was a weird one for Roderich. Later that year, the French boy and his family was killed by the SS. Sometimes Roderich and Feliciano will come and talk to the ghost of their friend, hoping that he can hear them.

In 1941, Feliciano broke his arm on a rock when he plopped down on the ground next to Roderich, so the Austrian had to comfort him for an hour before he could even bring himself to move.

Roderich always thought it was silly that Feliciano cried for so long, it couldn't have hurt that bad.

That is, until he did the exact same thing a week after Feliciano did. He couldn't play piano for the pub, and Lovino had to do all of the bar work.

Late in the year, their grandfather, Roma, had been killed by the SS. It was horrible, but Feliciano knew that he would want everyone to move on, so they played the happy card for a bit.

He hasn't really made any memories this year yet, but maybe' him and Feliciano can actually get Lovino out here for once.

He brushed his hair from his face, and sat on the grass, shutting his eyes.

The sound of steadily churning grass, the wind and birds singing together, the-

Roderich glared up at the sky. A group of planes flew noisily above him.

Maybe' it was time for him to go home.

He huffed, gripping the small basket full of Italian goods, and striding back down the trail. He hated how noisy those dumb planes were. Roderich walked back trough the town, and into the pub.

"Excuse me, we aren't open right no- Roderich!"

Feliciano jumped up happily, running to greet him.

"What did they have? Did they have everything I needed? Oh! How was the hill? Did you talk to Francis? Did you see any Germans today?"

"Feliciano! Shut the hell up!" Lovino shouted.

Feliciano frowned, looking to his feet. "I'm sorry, Roderich…"

"Hey, it's fine! Here, they had everything, and I had money left over to get you a surprise, too." The Austrian smiled softly, putting his hand on Feliciano's shoulder.

He really didn't like it when Lovino yelled at Feliciano. It was one of the only things that could wipe that grin off of his face.

"Ve~? What is it!?" His grin was back, and his brown eyes were sparkling.

"It's for you too, Lovino." Roderich smiled softly, sticking his hand in the basket, looking for the bit of chocolate he had bought.

"Whatever it is, I don't want it." He snorted.

"Fine, be careful of what you say though."

He grabbed Feliciano's hand, and placed it in his open palm, closing his fingers around it.

"I hope you like it, Feliciano." He smiled softly.

He dropped his hand, and the Italian looked at his gift, grinning wide when he saw it.

"_Cioccolato!" _He exclaimed. "Grazi mille, Roderich!"

He started to unwrap it, and shoved the wrapper in his pocket.

"Cioccolato!? Roderich, why didn't you tell me!?" Lovino shouted, stomping over.

He snatched the sweet from Feliciano's hand, and glared at both of them.

"Hey, give it back! You said you didn't want it!" Roderich growled.

"Well, I'm older. So I get the cioccolato!" He huffed, popping it into his mouth.

"Lovino!" The Austrian roared, his face red from fury.

"What are you going to do about it? Nothing!" The older Italian chuckled, walking away.

Roderich gritted his teeth, and looked to Feliciano. He was frowning again, and his eyes were pricking with tears. Roderich sighed, wrapping his arms around the little Italian, holding him close.

"I'm sorry, Feliciano… I didn't think that would happen." He breathed, patting his back.

"It's okay…" He sighed, pulling away, wiping his eyes and offering a small smile. "You thought about giving me a present, that's all that matters. Even if I didn't get it!"

Roderich grinned back at him, ruffling his hair. "Should we open up early?"

"Ci! I'll get ready, flip the sign!" He nodded, his hair falling into his eyes.

He turned and jogged to the back of the counter, and Roderich switched the sign so it said 'Open'. They had it in three different languages, English, Italian, and German.

The Germans in the area took note of this, and walked into the small pub.

Feliciano greeted them with a grin, and the Austrian sat idly at the piano. Roderich let the fingers of one hand play quick and melodious harmonies. The bar filled quite quickly, loud talking filling the room. Roderich glanced up through his glasses to Feliciano, who was now happily talking to the blonde German.

The pilot handed Feliciano something, and he grinned wide, running to the piano.

"Look! Ludwig gave me his chocolate! He saved it for me! Can I share it with you?" The Italian asked happily, his eyes sparkling like stars.

"Feliciano, I think that he gave it to you so that _you_ could eat it. Thank you though." He offered a smile back.

"Well… Could we do a song together? We should do the American song that you like a lot! The one about Texas!" Feliciano grinned.

"As much as I would love to, I doubt the Luftwaffe would want to hear a song about America." Roderich chuckled, ruffling Feliciano's hair.

Feliciano was about to respond, but the pub doors opened, and the pilots audibly groaned.

"What!? Did my awesomeness make all of you feel bad about yourself!?"

Roderich scoffed, knowing that voice from anywhere. That damn lieutenant that walked him home last night.

Feliciano got up to go man the bar again, and was happily chewing on his sweet.

Roderich turned around, and the pilot huffed, as nobody was paying attention to him. Red eyes met violet ones, and the German grinned.

"Hey there, Specs! I was hoping to find you here!" The German waved, walking over.

He roughly sat down on the stool with Roderich, looking over to the other pilots.

"_Oi! Bruder, erhalten Sie mich ein Bier!" _He demanded, turning back to Roderich.

Brother? Which one was his brother?

"Specs, will you play a song for me?" The obnoxious man next to him asked.

"Hm? U-um, what song would you like…?"

"Anything you want, it's your instrument, not mine. I can't tell you what to play." He shrugged, a smirk settling on his face.

"Oh! Um, alright then… Do you want a beer first…?" Roderich offered, shrinking back a little.

"Ah, I called for my brother to get me one. But he's just too jealous of my awesome to get me one." Gilbert snorted, rolling his crimson eyes.

Feliciano appeared behind him with a large glass mug, full of that disgusting beer the Germans like so much.

"Excuse me, Ludwig said you yelled for a beer?" Feliciano said softly.

The German turned around, grinning and nodding.

"Danke!" He smiled, sipping it loudly, turning to Roderich. "So, you going to play?"

He nodded, placing his fingers over the ivory keys. He shut his eyes, his hands mapping everything out. He played at random. It wasn't a song, it was just playing. He thought of today, and his feelings poured onto the keys. The Austrian felt at peace.

He released everything, his stress, happiness, sadness, all of it. He spilled his heart out onto the ivory keys. He opened his eyes, after everything he had was gone. The room was silent, everyone was staring, he knew it. He looked to Gilbert from the corner of his eye, he was staring, mouth parted a bit, and crimson eyes wide.

"Roderich…" Feliciano breathed from across the room.

"Please, tell me what song that was! It was beautiful!" A pilot asked.

"I will pay you to play it once more!"

The Germans all started asking questions. Some in German, others in English.

Roderich blushed, looking to the keys again, his hands in his lap.

"Roddy! Really, what song was that? How did you learn to _play_ like that!?" The man beside him asked. "It was awesome!"

"I-It isn't a real song…"

"What do you mean? Of course it is! You just played it!"

"No, he played from his heart." Feliciano interrupted.

"Eh? From his heart?" The German asked.

"Yes, sometimes he thinks of his feelings, and lets them show in him music!" The Italian grinned. "From how it sounded, Roderich feels really good today!"

"_Mein Gott… _Specs, that's really awesome!" The German grinned, taking a large drink of his beer.

"Thank you, Lieutenant…" Roderich nodded.

"Gilbert." The other stated firmly.

"Right, my apologies, _Gilbert_."

"You know, Specs, you want to go on a walk with the awesome me tonight?" The other smiled, sipping his beverage.

What? A German pilot asking him to go on a walk with him!? That makes absolutely no sense…

Well, what the hell. He has almost nothing to lose, right? But he's really scary…

"Alright, you don't have a choice, I'm dragging you out. You'll like it because I'm awesome!" He announced. "When does this place close?"

"It um, closes at seven, every night."

"Alright, will you play a little more for me? I'll be happy to wait, if you play for me." He smiled, still having an arrogant look in his eyes.

Roderich nodded, and played requests, random tunes and whatnot. The German man beside him just listened, ordering more beers.

It was far past closing, but Feliciano knows it's rude to have Roderich stop playing in the middle of a song. So he let Gilbert stay as well.

But Lovino was having none of it. He walked over, and smashed his fist on the keys, knocking Roderich from his playing.

"What was that!?" Roderich demanded, glaring up at Lovino.

"It's past closing! You can quit the damn playing already!" The Italian snapped, walking away.

"I'm so sorry Roderich, I couldn't stop him." Feliciano frowned.

The Austrian looked to the youngest Vargas, smiling softly.

"It's fine, Feliciano. I shouldn't be playing this late anyway. Why don't you go and make some of your amazing pasta?" Roderich asked happily.

The Italian grinned again nodding and running to the back kitchen.

"So, about that walk with me."

Roderich turned back to the German, his red eyes gleaming with arrogance.

"I _suppose_ I can go." Roderich huffed, standing up.

"Oh, who could possibly resist going on an awesome walk with the awesome me!" The German laughed.

Roderich rolled his eyes, following the German to the door.

"Oh, wait just one moment, please." Roderich apologized, jogging to the kitchen.

"Feliciano, I'm going to go on a walk, alright? Please don't worry too much." He smiled to the smaller man boiling noodles.

"Okay! Just be sure to be back for _pasta~!_" Feliciano said cheerfully.

"How could I miss it? See you in a little bit!"

The two parted and the Austrian jogged back to the door, where Gilbert was leaning against the wall.

"Ready?" He asked, smirking.

"Sure." Roderich huffed.

The pilot rolled his eyes, opening the door for the other. He stepped out, and shut the small door. The two walked to the outskirts of the village, there was really nothing but rocks and dirt.

"So, why did you ask for me to j-join you?"

"Hm? Oh, I guess because you're awesome at playing piano. Why? Did you really not want to come? I can take you home, I'm awesomely nice too." Gilbert said proudly, puffing out his chest.

"N-no… I can stay. Now that we're here, what do you want to talk about?" Roderich asked softly.

"I don't know, actually. I can properly introduce my awesome self to you, and you do the same?"

The Austrian nodded, and listened for Gilbert to begin.

"Well, I'm the awesome Lieutenant Gilbert Bieldschmidt! I think beer is awesome, and so is my plane! She's a Messerschmidt BF-109, named Genial!"

Roderich snorted at the name, and the German looked offended.

"What? Just because it might sound funny to you, doesn't mean it's an un-aweso-"

"Genial means awesome in German, I know that much."

"Woah! That's awesome! Anyway, everyone is completely jealous of how awesome me and Genial are. I showed you my iron cross last night too! So that proves I'm awesome! I joined the Luftwaffe when I was only sixteen, because they all knew how awesome I was!" He said happily.

Gilbert went on about how things were awesome, and how some things were un-awesome. It was quite funny to hear him ramble.

"Well, that's about all of the awesome stuff I can tell without getting busted! What about you?" The crimson-eyes of Gilbert stared at Roderich.

"Well, I'm just an Austrian who was adopted by Italians, that's it." The other shrugged, looking to his feet.

"No! What's happened over the years? I'm sure there's some super awesome stuff that happened!"

Roderich sighed, and told him about the memories he's had at the hill. That's really where most of his big memories happened.

The face that Gilbert made when he told him about his first kiss was absolutely hilarious, it had Roderich laughing for quite a bit.

Roderich finished off his stories, and shrugged. "That's it, I suppose."

"Huh, you should take me to this hill sometime, if it's so awesome. I just keep picturing some French dude kissing you though, that's so un-awesome." Gilbert cringed.

Roderich smiled in amusement, and the two walked in silence. That is, until Roderich's stomach growled in protest.

"Oh! I was supposed to go home! Feliciano is probably worrying!" The Austrian exclaimed, running a hand through his brunette locks.

"Oh, you're hungry too. Here." The German smiled, digging in his pocket for something, holding it out to Roderich.

"Is that…?"

"_Shokolade_." Gilbert was grinning now.

"_Danke_…" The Austrian breathed, accepting the sweet.

He would save it for Feliciano.

"Let me take you home, it is rather late. I should be getting back to base." The lieutenant sighed.

They walked back to the pub, talking aimlessly. Once at the doors, Gilbert smiled down to the Austrian.

"So, tomorrow will you take me to that hill?"

"Eh? I uh… I suppose, why not. You seem nice enough." Roderich smiled back.

"Correction, _awesome_ enough." Gilbert grinned.

"Alright, I take the whole statement back." Roderich chuckled, pushing up his specs.

"What!? Un-awesome!"

"I'm joking, I'll take you." Roderich smiled.

"Awesome! See you, Roddy!"

"Yes, good night, Lieutenant."

"Gilbert!" The German said quickly. "_Und gute Nacht._"

**To be continued~**


	3. Chapter Three

"I-I don't know what you're saying! I'm sorry!" Feliciano cried.

"_Schau, das ist alles was ich will ein verdammtes Bier!_" An angry pilot screamed to Feliciano.

Roderich awoke from Feliciano's pleading voice, and he grabbed his specs, placing them on his face as he ran to the front counter.

The pub was filled with a few Germans, did Feliciano open early?

He looked to the Italian, who had a gun pointed to him as tears streamed down his face. He was flailing his small white flag with his hands up.

"Feliciano! What's going on!?" Roderich exclaimed, running to his friend, wrapping his arms around him. "Where the hell is Lovino!?"

"H-Help me!" He sobbed into the Austrian's chest.

Roderich looked over his shoulder to the angry pilot, panic flooding his own veins.

"_Bitte, beruhigen. Ich spreche Deutsch, was brauchen Sie, Sir?_" Roderich spoke calmly.

The German lowered his gun, his eyes still burning. Roderich was able to help him out, and got him to put the gun away. He calmed Feliciano down, which took quite a long time. It wasn't until Ludwig walked in that the smile was back. He was still crying, but he was happily talking to his friend.

Roderich got himself cleaned up for his job in the pub. He smoothed out his hair, except for the one tuft he hated, and walked out to his piano.

He accepted requests as normal, and played a few songs of his own he learned back in Austria. He stopped for just a moment to stretch his fingers, and the Germans were all yelling.

"One more song!"

"Keep going!"

"Let me make another request!"

Roderich was overwhelmed by all of the pilots ordering him to do more songs. Even if they have giant smiles and soft eyes, hearing people yell loudly in German is frightening.

"Everybody, stop yelling! Gilbert is here!" Some random pilot called, repeating it in German.

"Suck it losers~!"

Gilbert marched in and called for a beer by the piano. He arrogant man plopped down by Roderich, and smirked.

"Hey there, Specs." He grinned. "Happy that the awesome me is back?"

"Who wouldn't be?" Roderich smiled sarcastically.

The German scoffed, and Feliciano walked up behind him.

"Excuse me? Your beer." Feliciano smiled, holding out a mug to Gilbert.

"_Danke!_" He quickly took the beer, taking a large mouthful.

"Do you have absolutely _no_ decency?" Roderich snorted, pushing up his specs.

"I have enough!" Gilbert defended. "Hey, do you think they'd let the pianist go on a walk before closing? It looks like rain, I don't know if you'd be able to handle it at night."

"_Was hast du gerade gesagt!?_" Roderich scoffed, glaring at the pilot.

"Sorry! You just seem like you're too much of a pansy to stand the cold! Is that true, little master?" He smirked tauntingly. "Nice German, by the way."

"I don't particularly _enjoy _cold weather, but I'm certainly enough of a man to be able to survive it!"

"_Kesesese! _Can I put you to the test? Let's go now!" Gilbert snickered, challenge flashing in his crimson eyes.

"Idiot! I can't just leave! I don't even think you're supposed to be talking to me, wont you get in trouble with the upper ranks?" Roderich hissed, gritting his teeth.

"I'll make an awesome excuse!" He grinned proudly, puffing out his chest. "Come on! Just tell that Furryciano or whatever, I want to see the hill!"

"His name is _Feliciano_."

"Well just go ask him, I'm sure Luddy over there is keeping him company." Gilbert shrugged.

"Fine, but this is the _only_ time I'm leaving with you! Go wait outside!" Roderich snapped, standing up and walking over to Feliciano.

Gilbert walked out of the small door of the pub after chugging the rest of his beer, leaving Roderich to take care of Feliciano.

The little Italian was in a deep conversation with his new friend. Well, he was at least, the German was just listening. Feliciano rambled on, and the pilot made eye contact with Roderich, who was standing behind the Italian.

"Then he told me to go make amazing pasta! He wasn't home in time for it… So I was worried, but he came home! He even had more _cioccolado_! He said he found it on his walk! Oh, I'm going to go tell him thank you again!"

He turned around, and bumped into the Austrian.

"Ah! Hello, Roderich! Thanks for the _cioccolado!_" He grinned, hugging the Austrian.

"It was no problem." He chuckled, patting his back. "But I need to ask you something."

The Italian pulled away, looking up with shining brown eyes. "Yes?"

"I was wondering if I could go on an early walk. All of those Germans yelling directly at me kind of shook me up."

"Oh! _Ci!_ Please go!" He nodded, grinning.

"Alright, this time I'm _sure_ to be back for pasta. Make it amazing as always, alright?" Roderich smiled softly, putting his hand on the other's shoulder.

"I promise!" He saluted, still grinning.

"Alright, see you soon!" The Austrian waved, walking to the small front door.

"_Ciao!_"

Roderich stepped outside, looking up to the sky. The clouds were angry and a mix of black and grey.

"Think you'll be alright, Specs?" Gilbert chuckled.

"Of course I'll be alright! Let's go, before I change my mind!" Roderich growled, walking forward.

"Hey! No need to get angry, I was making an awesome joke!"

The two walked to the outskirt of town where the trail was, and it had started to sprinkle rain by the time they reached it. It was very cold, Roderich didn't like it at all, but he wouldn't show it. It was a pride thing with him.

"Roddy? How much farther? I think the rain will only get worse as we go on."

"What? Can't handle a little water?" Roderich spat over his shoulder, walking on.

Truthfully, he was already cold. Cold and wet don't really mix well. It made his hair and shirt cling to him, and the wind made him have to hold back shivers. Gilbert noticed, and was actually starting to feel a little bit bad for teasing him about being a pansy.

"Specs, are you cold?" Gilbert asked, nudging the Austrian's arm.

"No." Was his reply.

One word, with such venom.

"It's not very awesome of you to lie to me like that." The German mumbled, looking over his shoulder.

"I'm n-not lying!" The other snapped, gritting his teeth.

Roderich hated admitting he couldn't do something, or something was hard for him to do, so he kept it all inside. The light shudders of his body and the shaking of his breathing sort of gave him away though.

"Look, w-w-we're h-here." Roderich smiled, his body lightly shaking.

There was a clap of thunder, and the rain started coming down a little more.

"C-come on. Let's s-s-sit." The Austrian nodded, walking up the hill.

They walked through the tall grass, sitting in the middle of the hill. Roderich was shuttering badly, bringing his knees o his chest. Gilbert sighed, grabbing the Austrian's shoulder. He turned his head, only to find crimson eyes staring at him.

"Specs, come on, tell me, are you cold?" Gilbert demanded.

"N-no." Roderich shook his head, looking away.

"Roderich, come on, you're freezing! Wear this." Gilbert sighed, removing his hand from the other's shoulder.

The Austrian looked back over, seeing that Gilbert had removed his coat. Roderich looked over the dull grey fabric, eyeing the many decorations it had. His eyes focused on a small iron cross, flicking to the small swastika on it. His eyes widened, and he sat frozen.

That swastika was the symbol of the people who _tortured_ people like him. To the Nazis, he was nothing but a dirty Jew.

"Hm? Roddy, it's fine by me for you to wear it. If you think you aren't awesome enough or something, just ignore that, it's cold as shit." The German insisted, placing in on the other's shoulders.

Is it really okay for him to wear it? Roderich feels disgusting wearing it. Yet, he couldn't help but be comforted by the warmth and lingering scent of Gilbert on the fabric. He slipped his arms into the sleeves, and noticed how much longer they were than his arms. It covered up half of his hands.

"Thank you very much, Lieutenant."

Gilbert gave the other a look to tell him he better rephrase that, _fast_.

"Er, _Gilbert_, I apologize."

The German chuckled, smirking.

"You know you can call me by my name, but you still insist on my rank. Not awesome!" He offered a playful smile. "Are you at least warmer?"

"Yes, thank you." Roderich nodded, trying to curl further into the fabric.

"That's awesome!"

"Aren't you cold? You could've kept your jacket, you know." The Austrian asked, looking to the other.

"No, the cold back in Germany is much worse than this. Don't worry about it, Roddy." Gilbert shrugged, smiling to Roderich.

Roderich's eyes scanned Gilbert, noticing he had another iron cross around his neck, just like the one on the coat.

"How did you get two iron crosses?" Roderich asked, looking back up to the crimson irises.

"Hm? Ah! Because I'm awesome! That one on my jacket is because I shot down a squad of Americans on my own. The one around my neck is my favorite! I got it because I risked my awesome life trying to save Bruder's." Gilbert grinned proudly, grinning wide.

"Huh? What happened!?" Roderich exclaimed, interested in his story.

"Well, with the Americans, I just tricked them all, because I'm so awesome. With Bruder, there was a Mustang shooting at him, and he sent the message on the radio he was out of ammo. I was too, and I'm sure the American knew that. He was chasing after him, shooting. I came up behind the Mustang, and bumped it with my own awesome one. It was a dangerous thing to do, but he retreated before any damage was done to our planes. Awesome, right?"

His eyes were full of pride, and Roderich couldn't help but smile back. It was amazing how such an arrogant man could have a nice side as well.

"Yes, it is." Roderich nodded.

"Glad you think so! Oh, and if you didn't know, Ludwig is my bruder. Now, can I ask you some questions?" Gilbert smiled, cocking his head to the side.

"O-oh, um, sure?"

"Awesome! How did you learn to play piano so awesomely?" The German asked causally.

"It was tradition in my old family, and the Vargas family happened to have one in their house when they adopted me. I just listen to a song, and play it by ear." Roderich replied, shrugging.

"Awesome! Here's a personal one, why do you decide to come out with me?"

"Eh!? Um… I suppose because you seem like a half-decent German." Roderich mumbled, looking to his lap.

"Huh? Are you hinting that Germans aren't decent?"

"No! Not at all! You just don't yell at me or anything! Sorry if I offended you!" Roderich answered quickly.

"_Kesesese!_ I scared you, huh? It's alright, I know some of us can be real dicks." Gilbert chuckled, patting the Austrian's back.

He only sneezed in return. Gilbert's eyes widened.

"Oh no, you're getting sick, come on, let's go back." Gilbert said quickly, standing up.

He held out a gloved hand for Roderich, which he took. Gilbert pulled the other man up, and they started walking back down the trail. Gilbert had his arm around Roderich's shoulders, trying to keep him warmer. He had to take his jacket back once they got close to town, and he took Roderich back to the pub.

"Do you want to come in? You're soaked." Roderich offered, sniffling.

"No, just go in, alright? I need to go back to base. See you around, okay?" He offered a small smile, turning on his heel and walking off.

"Alright, goodbye, Lieutenant!" Roderich called.

"It's Gilbert!"

Roderich chuckled, and walked into the pub, only a few pilots were left, including Ludwig. He turned his head when he heard the door open, and his blue eyes widened.

"Roderich! Feliciano has been worrying about you since the rain started!" He exclaimed.

"I apologize, I was quite a ways out of town. Where is Feliciano?" The Austrian asked, running a hand through his soaking wet hair.

"Kitchen, he said he makes pasta when he's worried. He said he'd give some to me and these pilots." The German smiled softly.

"Alright, thank you." Roderich nodded, walking to the small kitchen.

As soon as the Italian caught sight of Roderich, he ran over and hugged him.

"I know you said not to worry, but I couldn't help it! It was raining and cold, and I know you hate the cold! Oh, you're all wet! Go put dry clothes on! The pasta is almost done, you can have some too! I'm so glad you're safe!"

Feliciano spoke so quickly that Roderich hardly understood, but he was glad he was cared for.

"Well, you need to let go of me if I can get dry clothes."

"Oh! Right! Sorry! Go!" The Italian ordered, letting go of his soaked friend.

Roderich chuckled and left to their room, digging for dry clothes. He changed, leaving his hair wet. Somehow, that damn tuft of hair was still sticking up. He walked out to the bar, and there was an empty seat by Ludwig.

"Hello! Feliciano told me to say this is your seat." The German smiled, patting the stool.

"Oh, thanks." Roderich offered a smile back.

He walked around the bar, taking the seat by Ludwig.

"Pasta~!"

Everyone looked up, and the small Italian had plates of pasta stacked all up his arms. He sat them down in front of everyone, a grin on his face.

"_Danke_, Feliciano." Ludwig smiled, picking up his fork.

"Thank you, Feliciano." Roderich nodded, picking his own up as well.

Everyone started eating and talking. Roderich went on this dramatic ramble of how great the pasta was, and Ludwig chuckled beside him. Feliciano took it all seriously though, as he was grinning and cheering for himself.

Everyone was happy, until the pilots had to head out.

"Ludwig, you'll come back tomorrow, right?" Feliciano smiled, cocking his head to the side.

"Actually, we're going on a mission tomorrow. There wont be many pilots here tomorrow. I'm sorry, maybe' the day after tomorrow." The blonde offered a sad smile.

Feliciano frowned, nodding. "Okay. Tell everyone I said good luck!"

"I will, thank you. Goodbye."

"_Ciao!_"

The remaining pilots left the pub, and Feliciano smiled softly to himself, turning to Roderich, "I hope they'll all be okay."

Roderich wondered if Gilbert was going on the mission too. He didn't say anything about it… Roderich snapped himself out of his thoughts, why should he even care? After all, Gilbert is only an arrogant pilot, who insists on taking him for walks.

Well… Maybe' that's why he agrees to go with him, it's his arrogance. Yet, he still manages to be kind-hearted…

"Yeah, I hope so too." Roderich smiled lightly.


	4. Chapter Four

Roderich awoke happier than normal the following morning, he had a smile on his face as soon as he traveled back into consciousness. He stretched his arms above his head, and pointed his toes in order to stretch out his body. He sat up, rubbing his eye, and grabbed his specs, placing them on the bridge of his nose. Roderich didn't know why he was in such a good mood, he just was. He wasn't going to question it either, that might ruin his mood. The Austrian swung his legs over the side of the bed, and walked to the front bar.

_Silence._

So _that's_ why he's in a good mood. The Luftwaffe was on a mission, and he could play piano in peace! He smiled more to himself, grabbing a bread stick from under the counter, chewing quietly, as not to spoil the moment with smacking noises. When he finished, he just basked in silence.

"Good morning Roderich!"

The Austrian turned around, grinning like Feliciano normally does. Feliciano was surprised at first, but grinned back.

"You're smiling!" The Italian pointed out, clapping his hands together.

Roderich chuckled, and strode over to his friend. He put his hands on the Italian's small shoulders, and grinned down at him.

"Why wouldn't I be? Do you hear that?" The Austrian nearly sang.

The smaller man listened for a bit, confusing himself. He heard nothing, is Roderich going insane? Was Feliciano just missing the supposed 'sound'?

"Ve~… I don't hear a thing." Feliciano said quietly, frowning up at his friend.

Roderich laughed and wrapped his arms around Feliciano, picking him up and spinning him around. Now, Roderich was never one to be very strong at all. Feliciano was just so small and light, it was easy for the Austrian to pick him up. Feliciano laughed in excitement, enjoying the little ride.

"That's the point! It's _silent_! Do you know what that means?" Roderich asked, pulling away from Feliciano.

Feliciano's eyes grew even wider with excitement. He turned his head to the kitchen, nearly jumping in his place.

"Lovino! Roderich is going to play piano for us! Come on!" He yelled, pushing the Austrian towards the black piano.

As sour as Lovino was, he always took the chance to hear Roderich play the piano. In a calm environment, the Austrian always played the most beautiful songs. He was nowhere near his best with all of the Germans around. Lovino rushed from the kitchen, sitting on a barstool by the piano, tomato in hand. Feliciano sat next to his brother, waiting happily for Roderich to play.

He played random songs, no song in particular. There wasn't a song he wanted to play that much. All he really cared for doing was playing. That's how the three spent the morning. Roderich just played random war songs, and songs he learned in Austria.

Everything was cut to a halt when his stomach growled almost louder than the piano. He stopped, his eyes widened in embarrassment, and Feliciano just laughed.

"I'll make pasta! Though I'm running out of salt, can one of you go pick some up for me?" He grinned, cocking his head to the side.

"I will, I'm the one at fault here. For my rude actions, I should go and do it." Roderich proclaimed, standing up to get dressed out of his nightclothes.

Still, nobody had thought to put on regular clothes.

"Ve~? Rude actions? You didn't do anything!" Feliciano laughed happily.

"My stomach was nearly louder than my piano, that is very impolite." Roderich stated, furrowing his brow as if it were the most obvious thing.

Lovino chuckled, shaking his head.

"It's been so long since you've been here, and you still have that stupid, fancy, Jewish, Austrian manner problem. Here in Italy, it's a lot different. It's fine." The older brother smirked. "You should still go though."

"Lovino!" Feliciano pouted, glaring at his brother.

"What? We all know I wouldn't be back for hours." He snorted, standing up and leaving to the kitchen.

Feliciano sighed, looking to Roderich.

"It's fine, really! Oh, and while you're at the market, see if you can get anything else for pasta, okay?" The small Italian placed that smile right back on his face. "Oh, wear your coat this time! Last time it started raining!"

"Alright, I'll be back soon." Roderich smiled back, walking back to the bedroom.

He changed his clothes, and grabbed his coat from the hanger. It was blue and had two rows of gold buttons on it. It used to be his father's. His mother gave it to him when his father died, and she died soon after. He was very young, but he wore it everywhere. As he got older, he grew into it, so it fit him now.

He smiled, walking to the bar, and grabbing some money from the box. Roderich grabbed the small basket he takes with him, and mumbled a goodbye to the two Italians as he walked by the kitchen, and exited the front door. He walked through town, stopping to say hello to a few kids tugging on his coat. He walked into the market like he would any other day, and the man who sold him chocolate waved him over.

"Ah! You're the one who bought _cioccolado_ for Feliciano and Lovino, right?" He grinned.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"No reason, I've just known those two for a long time is all."

"Yes, of course. Do you have any more sweets, by any chance?" Roderich smiled softly.

"I'm sorry, no. I will save some just for you if I get some more though. I promise." The man grinned.

"Alright, bye, Sir!" The Austrian nodded, turning on his heel.

He wondered around, looking for anything of use. All he could find was a pouch of salt, and four tomatoes. Can't really blame anybody though, this _is _war. Plus, it's late in the day, everything has probably already been bought.

Roderich left the market, hearing a few noisy planes above. He looked up, spotting them. Perhaps one of them was Gilbert's plane? Did Gilbert have to pull another stunt to save someone again? Maybe' his plane already went down.

Roderich snapped himself out of his thoughts, mentally smacking himself. Why should he care? Gilbert is a German. Germans don't like Jews. So Gilbert doesn't like Roderich. How could he even worry about a person like that?

Roderich tried to ignore his newfound foul emotions, focusing on how it's supposed to be a _good_ day. He finished the walk back to the pub, and set the basket on the bar. He placed the extra money back in the box, his boots clicking against the old wooden floors as he walked to the kitchen afterwords.

"I've got the salt, and I also bought you tomatoes, Lovino." Roderich smiled.

"Thanks, kid." Lovino nodded.

"_Ci! _Thank you, Roderich! The pasta is done too! Have some!" Feliciano grinned, turning to grab a plate.

Everybody grabbed a plate, and ate Feliciano's pasta. Roderich never learned any of the names of the different pastas, since that's all Feliciano ever calls it. It's confusing anyway. After everyone finished eating, Lovino nodded towards the piano. The Austrian smiled and nodded. Feliciano sat on the same stool as this morning, as well as Lovino.

The Austrian placed his fingers onto the ivory keys that he knew so dearly. He shut his eyes, and let his hands flow, letting the tones of the piano do all of his talking. That's all he heard, was the sounds of the keys making soft, echoing tones around the empty pub. Roderich didn't even think, his mind was cleared. He played for quite a while, telling Feliciano and Lovino he had a lot of pent-up emotion.

Village goers heard the sounds of Roderich's playing as they passed, and stopped to sit outside of the pub. Even some kids stopped their game of tag to listen. His song was full of different emotions. Happiness, love, depression, and even panic. It was a medley of whatever his heart was feeling. It was at least a half hour later when Roderich finally opened his eyes, hitting the last deep key to round off the playing. He looked over to his two friends. Lovino's lip was shaking, and he was refusing to let tears fall. Feliciano was shamelessly letting the tears stream down his cheeks, still smiling. Roderich hadn't noticed his own eyes leaking tears until he saw those two.

"That was… That was really great, Roderich." Lovino sniffled, looking away and wiping his eye with the back of his hand.

Feliciano just continued to smile, and walked over to Roderich, wrapping his arms around him, resting his head in the crook of Roderich's neck. Lovino got up too, and wrapped an arm around the Austrian's shoulders.

"I didn't want you to stop… It was so amazing." The Italian said softly, as if he would break the moment if he talked any louder.

"You sounded very happy." Lovino coughed awkwardly, still trying to remove tears from his eyes.

"You sounded scared too… But you know what? It's all okay, with the war and everything. Do you know why?" Feliciano asked softly, pulling away from his friend.

Roderich looked into the Italian's sparkling brown eyes, full of unshed tears.

"Why?"

Feliciano wiped away the Austrian's tears, and embraced him once more. Roderich could even feel Lovino's grip on his shoulder tighten.

"Because we're all together. We're one little, but happy _famiglia._"


	5. Chapter Five

Today, the Luftwaffe had returned from their mission. Ludwig came bright and early, making Feliciano beam and jump excitedly. It was a rather cold day, that's why most of the pilots had shown up. The clouds were dark and angry, Feliciano was hoping for snow. Lovino was napping, as always. It's best to keep temper tantrums away from the Luftwaffe. Roderich was sat as his piano, playing random tunes. He was on the verge of losing himself in the music, until;

"Roderich! Help!"

The Austrian's eyes darted up to where his Italian friend was calling, his hands smashing down on the piano keys. He stood up, nearly toppling the stool to the floor, and ran to Feliciano without thinking about it.

"Feliciano! Are you okay!?" Roderich gasped, stopping in front of him. "Have you gotten taller…?

"Ve~… My sleeve got stuck on the hook again…"

Roderich looked over his friend, sure enough, he was on his tip toes, his shirt sleeve latched onto the top hook of the mug rack.

Roderich offered a small smile, ruffling the Italian's hair.

"This is the sixth time this month, Feliciano." He chuckled.

"I'm sorry…" Feliciano looked away, embarrassed.

"No, it's alright. You were just serving a German, right? It's not your fault." Roderich grinned, wrapping his arms around the Italian's waist, lifting him up so he could pull his sleeve free.

Roderich placed Feliciano back on his feet, and the smaller of the two grinned.

"Thank you, Roderich!"

"It's no problem, now go serve the German, I'm sure he wants his beer."

"I do, but I saw Feliciano's predicament."

Roderich looked over to see a smirking Ludwig. His eyes were laughing, but his face only showed a tinge of excitement. He looked so much younger, just by being amused. Roderich supposed that it's true that stress makes a person look older.

"Alright, I'm going to go back to the piano, okay Feliciano?"

"Have fun!" Feliciano grinned.

Roderich nodded, returning to his place at the large instrument. He overheard some pilots groaning about being deprived of rather, _vulgar_ activities. He couldn't help it, his ears just focused to listen in on the conversation.

"I would even kiss a _man_ if I had to… I just want to be touched!" A German groaned, sipping his drink.

"I know. But if the SS found out, we would be dead meat." His friend snorted.

"I don't even care, I've been in this war so long, I _need_ a damn play-toy."

The Austrian shook his head, ignoring them now. He shouldn't listen in anyway. Roderich pondered that for a moment though. All of the pilots had to be feeling that way… They've all left their families. For some, even love interests. Roderich sighed, and began to play again, that is, until he was stopped by a loud, obnoxious, announcement.

"Hey guys! The awesome me requires a drink!"

Roderich's fingers flinched and hit many keys, once again. The Germans groaned, clearly annoyed with him. Feliciano just managed to flinch and fling beer onto the floor. Roderich absolutely _despised_ that that damn German was so exclamatory. Well, the Austrian _had _to admit to himself, he did miss that annoying, grinning pilot.

Just a _little_.

"_Kesesese!_ I meant to drink, not to drop on the floor!" Gilbert teased.

Roderich heard Feliciano whimper, and his eyebrow twitched. It annoyed him to no end when people made Feliciano feel bad about himself.

Roderich chose to ignore him as best he could, but the sounds of him chugging his drink and him laughing kind of made that hard. Hands landed on his shoulders, and the Lieutenant proceeded to yell in his ear;

"Roddy! Hello!"

The Austrian chose to completely ignore him, shrugging off the man's hands.

"Roddy! Come on Specs, say hello to me! Roddy! Roddy~!"

Roderich gritted his teeth, removing his hands calmly from the piano, closing his eyes slowly.

"Hello, Lieutenant." He said lowly, turning around. "What do you need?"

The German perked up, his smile growing wider.

"My name is _Gilbert_, and I want you to come out with me again! That's what! " He laughed happily, gulping the beer in hand.

Roderich glanced out of the small window, seeing how dark the clouds were.

"Are you going insane? It looks like snow might hit, you know how I am with the cold." Roderich huffed, turning his whole body around.

"Ja! I do know, but you have that sweet coat!" The pilot grinned excitedly, leaning down to whisper in the Austrian's ear. "You can have mine too."

Roderich cleared his throat, and scooted back. He looked up to meet Gilbert's adamant ruby eyes.

"Please? I just came back from a mission, humor me?" Gilbert pouted.

"I apologize, maybe' when it is not so gloomy." Roderich calmly declined.

Gilbert proceeded to look completely pitiful. His face shifted into a let-down, saddened gaze, his eyes sparkling with something more that excitement. _Tears_.

Roderich's eyes widened, and Gilbert just kept looking to him.

"Roddy, please? I'm really stressed out… Truth is, the only reason I asked you to come out was because I need someone to talk to… You were the first person I thought of when we landed. It's okay if you don't really want to go… I'll talk to Bruder…" Gilbert looked away, letting a small tear trail down his cheek.

The Austrian gaped at him, completely in shock that Gilbert was really tearing up.

"I uh… I think I can go out for a little bit…" Roderich said softly.

Gilbert looked back over, his eyes lightening. "Really? You promise?"

"I promise." Roderich nodded, smiling softly.

Gilbert's stupid grin returned, and he cheered obnoxiously.

"I can't believe you fell for it! Now you have to come with me!" The German laughed.

The Austrian glared, gritting his teeth.

"You _idiot_!" Roderich hissed.

"Technically, I tricked _you_, so in this situation, you are the less intelligent one. I'm still awesome!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"Bruder, calm down! We get it already!" Ludwig's voice snapped, his icy blue glare falling onto Gilbert.

"Damn, sorry Bruder. I'm still awesome though!" Gilbert taunted, downing the rest of his beer.

Ludwig shook his head, returning to talk to Feliciano once more.

"Can we go now? Come on, come on, come on!" The pilot was bouncing on his toes in excitement.

"Fine, allow me to inform Feliciano." He rolled his eyes. "Please, wait outside."

The German cheered in victory, setting his empty mug on the counter, and running out. Roderich groaned. He had to deal with _another_ day with the annoying, supposedly awesome, Gilbert. He wasn't an absolutely _horrid_ person, he was just annoying. Perhaps it's all of the things he does to annoy Roderich that gets the Austrian thinking of him all the time.

"Feliciano, may I go for a walk?" Roderich called, standing up from his seat.

The Italian looked up from talking to Ludwig. "Of course! See you soon! Ciao!"

Feliciano instantly turned back to the German, continuing talking. If Roderich hadn't known any better, he would think the way they looked at each other was pure infatuation.

He scoffed at his own thoughts, walking to the front door, pulling his boots on, and exiting.

"Finally! Never keep awesome waiting!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"Hm? I was keeping somebody awesome waiting? Where are they?" Roderich asked, teasing the pilot.

"Hey! That's not very awesome!" The German pouted.

Roderich chuckled to himself, and he walked with the German through town, avoiding other German's. They made it to the trail, and the air only got colder. Roderich started to shiver a little, and Gilbert smirked. The German had actually had a pretty well-devised plan if he said so himself. Besides, he wouldn't just leave on a mission for a day and _not _have a plan of how he was to go about getting his buddy's forgiveness. It was awesome! This was the perfect time to start it too. He reached over, grabbing Roderich's hand.

"Eh?" Roderich looked down, his eyes widening when he saw his hand linked with Gilbert's.

He pulled it away instantly, looking away. He felt his cheeks blushing red.

"What was that for!?" Roderich snapped.

"You're shivering, so I thought holding your hand would warm you up, just a little. Is that okay?" The pilot smiled innocently.

Roderich sighed, he was such an idiot. Of _course_ he was only holding his hand to keep it warm, _nothing else._

"I suppose so…" He coughed, reaching his hand out.

Gilbert chuckled, taking it in his gloved one, holding on tightly.

_Awesome, awesome, awesome!_ Gilbert praised himself. He had to wipe the idiotic grin from his face before Roderich got suspicious.

"S-so… Why did you want to come out?" Roderich asked, looking to his feet.

"Huh? I just wanted to hang out with my friend is all." Gilbert shrugged his free arm, getting no response from the Austrian.

He pulled on that fake look of sadness. "I _am_ your friend, right…?"

Roderich's eyes widened at that tone, and he looked up to meet saddened crimson eyes.

"I-I'm not falling for that again! Idiot…" Roderich laughed nervously.

"It's not fake this time, I swear… We are friends, right? You're really the only person who talks kindly to me… Other than Bruder, of course." Gilbert sighed, looking away.

Roderich's heart clenched, and he bit his lip, trying not to give in. He wasn't sure if this was fake or not.

"I guess I've been forcing you out with me… You don't really like me, huh? It's alright, nobody does…" Gilbert's voice was just above a whisper.

Roderich shook his head and squeezed the German's hand, stopping in his tracks.

"Of course I like you! Sure you're arrogant and narcissistic, but you're kind and fun as well! Don't doubt that, okay!?" The Austrian yelled, gripping onto Gilbert's hand tighter.

Now, Gilbert can say he wasn't expecting _that_ kind of reaction out of the other. He stared at the Austrian, his violet eyes shot open, and his cheeks were flushed heavily.

"I-I apologize… That was very rude of me…" He said softly, looking to his feet.

The German smiled, pulling Roderich forward.

"Don't be, that was actually very nice, _danke_." Gilbert actually smiled sincerely, pulling Roderich to walk further.

As Gilbert was filling his head with accomplishment and pride, Roderich was a different story. His mind was coming up with millions of thoughts each second. He was so shocked he had been manipulated into saying something like that.

Sure, like he said, Gilbert was an arrogant, obnoxious, narcissistic, loud, egregious being, but he still had a kind heart. Now that He had been tricked into saying he liked Gilbert as a person, it became more apparent to him. He never admitted to himself that he really _did _like the pilot.

Of course, it still scared him that if he ever made Gilbert angry he would slaughter him, but he truly did enjoy spending time with him. He smiled a little, he liked Gilbert. He _actually _liked him!

New feelings dawned upon him, now he had another layer of nervousness. Not only in fear of being killed by the German, but also in fear of embarrassing himself. He blushed at the thought of doing something incredibly stupid. What if-

"Specs? You doing okay there? You've been blushing and smiling at the ground for like three minutes." Gilbert chuckled, nudging Roderich with his arm.

Roderich tensed, looking up, the teasing look in Gilbert's expression was gone, it was truly happy.

"O-oh, I was just thinking. I f-found something out." He said softly, offering an awkward smile.

"Oh? What did you find out?" Gilbert's arrogant expression was back, now he was teasing.

"Nothing that you would care about! It doesn't concern you in the least. Not at all!" Roderich huffed, now acting like a high-class priss.

Gilbert snorted, rolling his eyes. His grin never left his face, "Then why are you blushing, Specs?"

"Eh!?" He gasped, his cheeks growing hotter. "Simply b-because it's cold outside!"

Gilbert's grin widened.

"Still? Here, let me help." He said smoothly, releasing Roderich's hand.

Roderich tensed up when he felt Gilbert wrap his arm around his waist, pulling him closer to his side.

"Better?"

"Yes, thank you." Roderich answered quickly, staring straight ahead.

He scolded himself, he was _already_ making a fool of himself! Just because he admitted to himself about having a crush on the damn German! He let that last detail sink in.

He had a _crush_, on a _German_.

Roderich made a mental list of why that was _not _okay.

1). He was a man.

2). Lieutenant Beilschmidt was also a man.

3). Lieutenant Beilschmidt was German.

4.) Germans don't like Jews.

5). He was a Jew.

6). Germans don't like homosexuals.

7.) He is attracted to a man.

8.) The man he is attracted to is German.

Yes, Roderich was in quite the dandy predicament.

He just wouldn't show anything to Gilbert! Nope, nothing at all! He would keep blaming his blushes on the cold until he learned to control them, if ever…

"Hey, I think we're here." Gilbert grinned, patting Roderich's hip.

Roderich forced a smile, "Yes, we are. Shall we sit in the grass?"

Gilbert nodded, pulling the Austrian to a random spot in the middle of the tall grass. Moisture was clinging to his boots, and he smirked devilishly.

"Uh, it looks a little wet. Do you want to sit on my coat?" Gilbert asked casually.

"What!? Er… No, thank you… I will just wash my coat when I reach home…" Roderich declined, shaking his head.

"Eh? Come on, I want to prevent you from going through anymore trouble." The German smiled down to Roderich.

"Believe me, none will be caused by sitting… Shall we?"

He awkwardly moved out of the pilot's grasp, and adjusted to sit down. He lowered himself, but didn't feel the water seep through his coat, or pants. The Austrian was puzzled, the grass felt a bit different as well. He looked down, violet eyes widening when he spotted pale grey underneath him. He looked to Gilbert, who was sitting down by him, only his black button-up remaining on his upper half, along with his iron cross necklace.

"Hey, are you still cold?" Gilbert asked casually.

Roderich gaped, ignoring the question. "I'm sitting on your coat!"

"Well, way to point out the obvious."

"How!?"

"Um, I took it off, then set it on the ground. Just before you sat down too, I was right on time with placement, because I'm awesome." He grinned proudly.

"Yes… I see…" Roderich mumbled, looking away.

The two were silent for a bit. Until Gilbert got sick of it, speaking up.

"Hey, Roddy, are you cold? You ignored me when I asked a bit ago."

"O-oh, um… It c-could be a lot worse. I h-have my coat this time… Thanks for asking, Lieutenant.

The pilot sighed, mumbling a quiet 'It's Gilbert…' as he settled further into the grass. He needed to keep up this innocent and relaxed act if the plan was to work out.

Roderich bit his lip, why was he so flustered!? Big deal, he was faced with new feelings, he isn't an eleven year old girl! It was just Gilbert! Gilbert the scary, arrogant, exciting Luftwaffe Lieutenant. Roderich mentally slapped himself, he needs to calm down!

"Hey, Specs, you're fingers are _blue_. Not even red from slight coldness, they're fucking blue!" Gilbert's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Huh?" Roderich looked down, his fingers were a pale blue-purple, like Gilbert had said.

"Here, take my gloves, that's just horrible." The pilot huffed, removing his black gloves, holding them out to the Austrian.

Roderich reached to grab them, but his fingers dropped them immediately. This made him panic.

"Oh no! I'm going to have them amputated! No… I should have put them in my pockets! Oh no!" He was speaking quickly, Gilbert almost didn't understand.

The pilot put his hands on Roderich's shoulders, looking into his fearful violet eyes.

"Hey, stop panicking. This happened to Bruder once when we were kids. He put on his gloves, and he was okay." The German said softly, reaching down for one of the gloves. " Give me your hand."

Roderich nodded, holding out his numb hand to Gilbert. The pilot slid the glove onto Roderich's hand with ease, the Austrian had surprisingly small hands for a pianist.

"Thanks." Roderich said quietly, almost inaudible.

Gilbert smiled and shook his head. "It's no problem, I enjoy helping people."

He slid the second glove on, setting it on Roderich's lap.

"Can you bend your fingers on this hand yet? Try grabbing my fingers." Gilbert asked, picking up the other.

Roderich tried to move his fingers, but could only move them a little.

"Oh… Wow, this is pretty bad." The German bit his lip.

"Way to make someone feel better!" The Austrian snapped. "Oh, um, I apologize…"

Gilbert laughed, "It's okay, you're Austrian!"

"What is that supposed to mean!?"

"It means you're cute when you're annoyed, now let me warm your hands." Gilbert said casually.

Roderich tensed, he was just called cute for being angry!?

The German wrapped his arm around Roderich, grabbing one hand, and grabbed the other with his free arm. It surprised Roderich, but he wasn't going to complain.

"Are they feeling better?" Gilbert asked softly, speaking right into the Austrian's ear.

Roderich shivered, feeling the warm breath on his skin was a bit of a shock.

"Y-yes, thank you…"

"Hm, it's no problem, because I'm awesome." The pilot chuckled, resting his head on Roderich's shoulder.

Roderich blushed incredibly. If Feliciano saw him, he would laugh that he looked like a tomato, he's sure he's the correct shade of red. Perhaps he's even as red as Gilbert's eyes. The thought of him staring into those crimson gems made him blush further, so if he didn't look that red before, he sure did now.

"Hey Roddy, would you be mad if I asked you something?" Gilbert asked lazily, lifting his head from his shoulder.

Roderich looked away, to conceal his face, trying to control it.

"Please, ask away, I will not be angry…"

"So your first kiss was up here with a French kid, right?" Gilbert deadpanned.

"Um… Y-yes…" Roderich coughed.

"Have you had your second kiss yet?"

"No…"

"Hm, that's really interesting." The German smirked to himself.

"Um, not really…" Roderich mumbled.

"So this place is really special to you, right?" Gilbert nodded, slightly shifting closer to the Austrian.

"Yes, it is a very important part of my life." The Austrian put on a nervous smile, still looking away from Gilbert.

"Memories, right?"

"Of course, what other significance would a hill hold in my life?" Roderich laughed awkwardly.

The two sat in a comfortable silence, well, to Gilbert anyway, Roderich was filled with unsettling emotions. The powerful winds made Roderich's hair completely wild, while Gilbert's was _always_ wild. The German breathed lightly, now was the do-or-die part of his plan. Of course it would work out, because he's awesome, he wasn't worried.

"Can I be a part of it?" Gilbert asked suddenly.

"Hm? Be a part of what, Lieutenant?"

The German forced himself to blush, thinking of embarrassing things.

"You know, the memories, can I be a part of it?" He coughed with a fake nervousness.

Gilbert felt his heart drop to his stomach, the Austrian was _laughing_.

"Why are you laughing!?" The Lieutenant exclaimed, blushing in _real_ embarrassment.

"Because you already _are_ a part of the memories! How often does a German pilot _demand_ a person to accompany them? You're a memory of this year already, do not worry. I apologize if I embarrassed you."

"Oh… I thought you were doubting my awesomeness…" Gilbert sighed in relief.

"I would never." Roderich smiled softly.

Roderich felt Gilbert still beside him, and he realized what he had said. The German only relaxed, resting his head on Roderich's shoulder.

"_Danke_…"


	6. Chapter Six

From yesterday's events, Roderich had gotten a bit of a sore throat. As normal, Gilbert felt like an ass when he heard Roderich speaking. His voice sounded like a whale drowning in mucus. Gilbert knew it was his fault, he was the one who guilt-tripped him into going out. Though Roderich insisted it was okay, smiling softly to the German. The two of them were currently with Ludwig and Feliciano. Feliciano and Roderich occasionally had to scurry off to get a drink for a pilot.

"So, why aren't you on the piano?" Lugwig asked, sipping his beer.

"My hands-"

"He can't play when he's sick! He has a weak body, so his hands get really shaky. He's been like that since he got really sick a few years ago." Feliciano answered happily.

The Austrian smiled and rolled his eyes. Whenever he had a sore throat, Feliciano never let him talk.

"Ah, I see. I was like that for a while when I was little. I got strong again though." Ludwig offered a small smile.

Gilbert sighed, looking to his empty mug. "Roddy, want to get me another beer?"

Roderich smiled and nodded, grabbing his mug and walking to the beer keg. Gilbert looked at the Austrian's hands, which were indeed shaking as he was filling the mug. The German winced, guilt flooding his body. Roderich set the mug down, arching an eyebrow at Gilbert's attitude. Usually he would be yelling and grinning. Today it was exciting if he just laughed.

"Lieutenant, why are you not acting like your 'awesome self'?" Roderich asked, using air quotes.

"Hm? What do you mean? I'm as awesome as ever! What makes you think I'm not awesome today!?" Gilbert exclaimed, grinning like an idiot.

"There, now you've done it, Roderich." Ludwig chuckled, rolling his eyes.

Feliciano smiled too, but he was looking at Ludwig, not the hyperactive Lieutenant. Roderich arched an eyebrow, smirking.

"Oi, Ludwig!"

The blonde pilot turned around, a group of pilots was motioning for him to go over, so he shrugged and excused himself. Gilbert followed after him, and Roderich took note he walked like an ape. He laughed a little to himself, and looked to Feliciano, who was still staring at the blonde.

"So, how do you feel about Ludwig?" The Austrian deadpanned.

Feliciano blushed, and froze in his spot.

"What do you mean!? Luddy is just a good friend!" He said quickly.

"Oh, his name is _Luddy_ now?" Roderich teased.

"Ve~! He started calling me Feli first!"

"Oh, yes, I'm sure." Roderich chuckled.

"W-well, at least Luddy is normal, unlike Gilly!" The Italian defended.

"Hm? Gilly? Oh! Lieutenant Bieldscmidt! Yes, he's rather conceited at times, what are you implying?"

"You like him just as much as I like Luddy!" Feliciano huffed quietly.

"I don't know, you seem to really fancy Ludwig."

"Roderich! I don't fancy him!"

The two stared hard at each other, until they both burst out laughing. It hurt Roderich's throat, but it was well worth the happiness.

"I'm just kidding Feliciano, I know you would tell me and Lovino anything." Roderich grinned, clasping his hand on the Italian's shoulder.

"Ve~! I know you'd tell us anything too!"

"Oh, what are _we _talking about over here?" Gilbert's voice sang as he sat back down.

"I think it was a brotherly bonding moment. Something you wouldn't understand, Gilbert." Ludwig smirked, sipping his drink.

"Geez, don't be so pissy, Luddy. Just because that guy wanted a piece of your _boyfriend_ doesn't mean you need to take it out on me." The albino hissed, rolling his eyes.

"Ve~ It's just like you and Lovi!" Feliciano grinned, poking Roderich's arm.

"I apologize, I think I heard wrong. _Boyfriend_?" Roderich coughed, arching an eyebrow.

"Ludwig! You never told me about that!" Feliciano gasped, bouncing on his toes.

Gilbert started laughing loudly, and Ludwig turned away, blushing. Feliciano was oblivious, and Roderich had a pretty good idea what they were referring to. Once Gilbert had calmed down, he changed the subject for his brothers sake. It was cold outside, so a lot of the pilots decided to just go back to base. It was getting fairly empty, though it was only around one in the afternoon.

Feliciano realized they needed ingredients for pasta, and Lovino would refuse to go, so he had to. The Italian would turn into a _demon_ if Roderich set foot outside while he was sick.

"Alright, I guess I should go to the market. Can you serve the rest of the pilots?" Feliciano asked softly, looking up to the Austrian.

"Yes, I should be fine. Be safe, Feliciano." Roderich nodded, filling up a mug.

"Um, should I go with you, Feli? The SS are in to check around the base." Ludwig asked, coughed lightly.

Roderich blanched, gripping the mug a little too tight, his knuckles went white. Feliciano bit his lip, nodding.

"Can you make sure Gilly watches Roderich?" He turned around to the large pilot.

"Ja, I'll go tell him. Grab whatever you need."

Roderich came back to his senses, and handed the random pilot his drink. He had to sit down. Whenever the SS came, the always stopped _here_. They always made sure to stop by the pub, it always panicked Roderich. As long as he spoke casually, there was no suspicion. He hid his face in his hands, slumping over.

"Oi, Roddy! Huh? Roddy!" Gilbert yelled.

The Austrian looked up, the German's grin instantly turned to a frown.

"Roddy, what's wrong?" He asked softly.

"Hm? What do you mean? I'm fine." Roderich smiled.

"Nein, you were crying. I can see the tears in your eyes. What is wrong?" He demanded.

Roderich flinched, looking to his lap. Gilbert softened his gaze, biting his lip.

"Is it because the SS is stopping in…?" He asked quietly, leaning over the counter.

Roderich bit his lip, and nodded slowly.

"It's alright, I'll make sure you'll be safe. Trust me. Why don't you go get the other one? Lovino, I think his name was. I'll take you out to the hill. You're wearing my coat and gloves though." Gilbert whispered, reaching to turn Roderich's head to face him.

He took note that Roderich looked like a scared child. He smiled softly, patting his cheek lightly.

"It will be okay. If you start feeling even more sick, I'll take you home."

It took Roderich a few moments, but he slowly nodded. Gilbert stood up to step outside, and Roderich went to grab his coat and gloves. He wrapped his white scarf around his neck, and slipped on his boots. Now was the hard part, waking Lovino. He walked over to his bed, and shook his shoulder.

"What!? What do you want, you damn piano playing bastard!?" He snapped, sitting up as soon as he was disturbed.

"I… The SS is coming… I was going out to the hill… Feliciano is out." He said softly.

Lovino frowned, and nodded. Lovino and Feliciano knew that Roderich turned into a scared little child when the SS came around. He got out of bed, and waved Roderich away.

"I'll handle it, go on." He smirked.

Roderich nodded mumbling a thank you as he stepped out to the front bar. He glided across the room and out the door. Gilbert met him at the door, and they rushed to the edge of town. As soon as nobody was in sight, Gilbert slipped his coat over Roderich's, and his gloves too.

"Here, I know you probably don't want to wear all of this, but take my hat too. It will keep you warm as well." Gilbert nodded, placing his cap on Roderich's head.

"Thank you, for everything, Lieutenant." Roderich nodded.

"No problem, it is my fault you're sick anyway. Plus, I know the SS can be really scary. Hell, _I'm_ afraid of them." Gilbert smirked, shaking his head.

"Hm? Why would you be afraid of them? Aren't you on their side…? You're part of the Luftwaffe, last time I checked." Roderich huffed, walking up the trail with the pilot.

Gilbert looked up to the grey sky, smiling halfheartedly.

"For reasons I am not allowed to share. Though, if you told me why _you're_ scared, I may crack." He smirked devilishly down to the Austrian.

"Huh!? I-I don't know… I mean-"

"Don't you trust me, Roddy?" Gilbert pouted, wrapping an arm around Roderich. "Because I trust you."

Roderich was silent, blushing at the pilot's actions. It seems his petty crush isn't just a phase of that day, it's real.

"I won't tell if you wont." Roderich denied, shaking his head.

"Fine, that's probably not the most awesome thing to talk about anyways. We should be focusing on the awesome me! Not the SS!" Gilbert grinned, leaning his head on Roderich's.

"Oh? We should focus on _you_ now? May I ask why?" Roderich smirked in amusement.

"Well, because I'm awesome!" He exclaimed proudly.

"Yes, I suppose you are…" Roderich sighed in defeat.

Gilbert was still setting his plan in action. Now he has one more excuse to pamper Roderich like a spoiled brat. It's cold, _and_ he's sick! The pilot leant down to put his mouth by Roderich's ear, speaking lowly.

"We could talk about how _cute_ you are though…"

Roderich blanched, then proceeded to blush like a tomato. He shifted nervously, biting his lip.

"What? It's true. Your prissy little boy-man-girl persona makes me smile."

Gilbert continued to compliment Roderich. Roderich was sure all of the blood in his body had migrated to his face. Gilbert complimented him on the way up to the hill, when they found the hill, sitting down on the hill, practically pulling Roderich into his lap, the entire time, basically.

"Oh but Roddy, while a lot of these things make me smile and happy~" He trailed off lowly, leaning down to his ear.

"E-eh… What are y-you doing…?" Roderich stuttered.

"Your eyes, they're so beautiful…"

Roderich squeaked, quite unmanly, he must admit. Gilbert smirked, wrapping an arm around Roderich's waist. Roderich's eyes shot open, and he tensed up.

"_Was_? Are you uncomfortable?" Gilbert teased, resting his head on Roderich's shoulder.

'_I can't think of anything to say back…' _Roderich thought to himself.

"Come on, Roddy. Loosen up, you're very tense." The pilot huffed.

Roderich was too nervous to do anything, he just sat, completely tense. Gilbert still hadn't gotten enough yet, he was going to keep pushing it. He was going to continue the light teasing, but he hears planes in the distance.

Gilbert frowned, his head whipping to the direction the loud noises were echoing.

"Lieutenant…?"

"Roddy, do you hear that? They didn't say _anything _about us going on a mission… We're the only base in the area!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"What? Could it be a different squadron passing over?" Roderich asked.

Gilbert spotted little black dots in the distance, and he gently pushed Roderich away, standing up. He squinted, the planes becoming more clear as they got closer. His eyes widened, and he shook his head.

"Nein… _Nein!_ Roderich, I have to go to the base. The others will most likely return as well after hearing those planes. Get back to the pub, shut it down for the day, and stay inside." Gilbert said quickly, looking sternly into Roderich's eyes.

"U-um… Why…? Aren't they Luftwaffe planes?"

The German ripped his hat off of Roderich's head, and the Austrian removed the grey coat as well.

"No, they're American. Go!" The albino ordered, slipping his coat on again.

Roderich tensed, and nodded. He turned ON HIS HEEL, BUT Gilbert grabbed his wrist.

"Wait, I uh, I don't know what's going to happen. So just er…" He stuttered, shaking his head and pulling Roderich to his chest tightly.

"L-Lieutenant!?"

"_Hallo_…" He whispered, clenching his teeth.

"What…? I think you mean 'goodbye'."

"No, I'm _not_ going to say goodbye! I'm _not!_" Gilbert hissed, holding Roderich tightly.

Roderich noticed his blush dusting across his cheeks. Gulbert kissed his temple, and pulled away, leaving the Austrian shocked.

"Run, go!" He ordered.

Roderich nodded and turned around quickly and ran, heading straight for the pub. He didn't understand, the American's are here to protect him! That's when it hit him.

Gilbert wasn't like him, he wasn't a normal civilian, he was a Luftwaffe Lieutenant. Roderich frowned, running faster. Behind him, Gilbert stood, staring up at the group of P-51 Mustangs above him. He shook his head, jogging down the trail himself.

People stared at Roderich confused as he ran through the town. Mostly because he was known as the calm and collected man, not the one who frantically sprints through the town center. Roderich saw a few Germans scrambling through the town as well. He burst open through the pub doors, and Feliciano turned around, frightened.

"Oi! I surrender! Don't hurt us, please!" He cried, automatically waving his white flag.

"Feli, it's okay. Just… Clean…" Roderich breathed, turning to lock to door.

"Okay! Oh, Luddy had to- _Wait_! You left! Why were you outside! You are sick! Lovino was up taking care of Germans!" Feliciano scolded, really seeming like a child scolding their parents.

"I apologize. I was very scared, so Lieutenant Bieldsmidt took me out for a walk." Roderich breathed.

Feliciano was silent, then he smiled softly. "It's okay. But as I was saying, Luddy had to leave! He saw some American planes and told me to come back here. All of the pilots were already gone though. Did Gil have to leave?" Feliciano shrugged.

Roderich simply nodded. It must be really important if the whole Luftwaffe had to return to base. All he wanted was for Gilbert to be okay, Ludwig too. He had a difficult time deciphering which side he was on, the Allies or the Axis. He liked the Allies because they were there to protect innocents. Though, he enjoyed the Axis as well because of the kind Germans. There are some who just want to kill everything that moves, then there are the ones like Gilbert.

"Roderich…? Did you hear me?"

Roderich looked up, pushing his specs up the bridge of his nose.

"No, I apologize. Please repeat it?"

"Ve~, you were staring at your feet for a bit! I asked if you want to play piano? You seem stressed."

The Austrian smiled softly, nodding. Feliciano grinned, meeting him at the bench. Roderich made himself comfortable, and placed his hands on the keys.

"Hm? Roderich, when did you get those gloves? They look like the Luftwaffe's." Feliciano asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Huh?" Roderich looked down to his hands, still cloaked in the black gloves that Gilbert had given him.

His violet eyes widened, and he shook his head, trying to make up an excuse.

"I found them in this coat. I suppose my father left them in the pocket, I have just found them today." Roderich smiled softly, playing it off.

'_That idiotic pilot…' _Roderich thought to himself, a blush dusting his cheeks. _'He is lucky that I have a soft spot for him…'_


	7. Chapter Seven

"Then I was like, nein! I'll shoot you too!" Gilbert yelled, waving his hands around.

Ludwig, Feliciano, and Roderich were all listening to Gilbert tell the story of his dogfight yesterday. The German was so adamant about telling his story, nobody could bare to stop him. Ludwig was drinking his beer, trying his best to ignore hearing it for the eighth time. Feliciano was frowning, not exactly as keen on shooting planes down as Gilbert. Roderich was nodding, pretending to be interested.

"Oh! And we actually were flying over the hill! I shot that stupid American down! We should go and see his wrecked plane! It should only be a mile or so away from our regular spot!" The pilot grinned, staring up at Roderich, sipping his beer.

The Austrian's heart sank.

"Er, yes… That would um, be nice…?" Roderich arched an eyebrow.

"Psh, it will be awesome! I'll meet you outside!" Gilbert cheered.

He chugged the rest of his drink, and hopped up, running out of the pub. Roderich sighed, not really wanting to see the remains of an American plane, and looked to Feliciano. Ludwig was smiling as he was talking to the Italian, and Feliciano was smiling back. Roderich decided not to interfere, and went to grab his coat. He slipped it on, along with his boots, and met Gilbert outside.

"Roddy! Yeah! Come on! Let's go find that idiot and his plane!" The German cheered, running ahead.

"Wha- Lieutenant! Wait!" Roderich called.

He almost lost the pilot because he couldn't keep up. Of course he knew the general direction he would be going in, but it is better to not lose the man. He stopped and waited for Roderich at the beginning of the path, and wrapped an arm around the Austrian. He was out of breath, so he thought it would be best to hold him.

"So Roddy, you excited to see the awesomeness I've done!?" Gilbert gushed happily, beginning to walk up the path.

Roderich thought it was best to keep silent. He's not exactly excited to see the wreckage, and possibly the death site of an American.

"I am! It felt so awesome to shoot his plane down! Shows him to try to bomb us! I always take down the Americans!" Gilbert continued.

He kept going on about how he is awesome, and how the wreckage is as well.

"Oh Roddy! I can smell the burnt metal in the air! We're so close!" Gilbert cheered.

"Yes… Wonderful…"

Gilbert stopped, and Roderich looked up, confused. Gilbert then picked him up bridal style, making him squeak in a very un-manly way.

"What are you doing!?"

"Running with you!" The pilot grinned.

Roderich was going to question him further, but the German began to run up the path. Roderich gasped and hid his face in Gilbert's shoulder, holding onto his coat for dear life.

"It's alright, Roddy! I won't drop you!" Gilbert promised.

The Austrian ignored him, praying that he would not be dropped, or fallen on if Gilbert happened to trip. His terror was suddenly over, and he looked up, facing a still smoking heap of metal.

"There it is! Awesome!" Gilbert grinned, setting his friend down.

Roderich's stomach dropped, he felt horrible seeing this. It didn't even look like a plane! It was just a chunk of black and silver metal, releasing heat from burning.

"Let's go check it ou-"

Gilbert silenced himself, looking a little closer.

"Oh. Roddy, shut your eyes." Gilbert said softly, smiling happily.

"Why?"

His smile fell.

"Just… Trust me…" Gilbert sighed, patting his friend's shoulder.

Roderich shrugged, and turned around. He heard the crunch of dirt and grass under Gilbert's boots, and soon the German gasped.

"What is it?" Roderich called.

"I uh… Maybe' this wasn't such a good idea…"

"Why?" Roderich turned around, his jaw dropping at what he saw.

Gilbert was crouched down, looking over a… A _body. _

"_Mein Gott_…" Roderich breathed, covering his mouth with his hand.

Gilbert looked up, his eyes widening.

"Take off your glasses, don't look!" He yelled, flailing his arms.

Roderich couldn't move, he couldn't look away from it. There was a dead man right there! And Gilbert killed him!

"S-Sir… I would take 'em off… But I'm kinda hurt right now…"

Two pairs of eyes darted to the voice, the body was speaking.

"Heh? You're alive? Give me your name, now!" Gilbert ordered, harshly flipping the body.

"Ow! Fuck, my name is Alfred F. Jones. Bomber pilot number 50. J-just kill me… I don't know anythin', Germany knows all of our plans…" He mumbled, opening his eyes.

"I should kill you! I must know, why were American's trying to attack us?" Gilbert ordered.

"I-It's war… Why d-does Germany want Jews to be dead?" The American retorted, glaring up at Gilbert through cracked glasses.

Gilbert's gaze hardened, and he grabbed a knife from his boot, holding it to the American's throat.

"Don't you _ever_ question us again! We have every right to get rid of them!" He screamed.

"N-no… That's like Americans saying that C-Canadians shouldn't exist 'c-cause they like pancakes…"

"_Du kleiner Scheißer!_" The German hissed, raising his knife.

"Lieutenant!" Roderich screamed, stopping Gilbert.

"_Was_!?" He groaned.

"You can't kill him! He didn't do anything! I just… Don't, please!"

"Why shouldn't I? It's my duty, Roddy!" Gilbert snapped.

Roderich had never been more scared in his life. Though, the least he could do is try and protect the man who has been fighting for him.

"I would never forgive you if you killed someone right in front of me, please, just… Go back to the pub or something." He said firmly, trying to look angry.

Gilbert glared up at him, and Roderich was able to manage putting on his famous, 'Don't-Talk-To-Me-I-Will-Kill-You' face. The pilot shook his head, standing up and walking past Roderich. He said nothing, just got up and left. As soon as he was out of sight, Roderich went into his mother mode, running to the bomber, kneeling down.

"Are you okay?"

"Who are ya…?" He asked, looking up.

"Roderich Vargas Edelstein. I'm so sorry about him, I didn't know about that side of him… Please, tell me, does anything hurt?"

The American chuckled weakly, "I got my plane shot down, and survived the crash. Honestly, everythin' hurts. Don't think I'm broken though."

Roderich mentally smacked himself, and nodded.

"I apologize, that was a bad question. I can… I can bring you back to my pub if you like. I will bandage you up, and you can stay with us until someone comes for you."

"Huh? Us…?"

"Oh, my two brothers. Feliciano and Lovino. They will let you stay, I know it. Please, let me clean you up. It's the least I can do after that Lieutenant did that." Roderich practically begged.

"Alright… I guess I trust ya. Though, there's something' in my left boot that I need. Can ya check if it's in there? It's a knife."

"W-what do you need a knife for…?" Roderich asked nervously.

"Oh, it's my good luck charm. I wont hurt ya, have a look? It should be in the left one."

Roderich nodded, shifting to reach for the man's boot. He patted it, feeling the shape of a knife.

"It is in there."

The pilot grinned, looking so happy despite his current situation. Roderich smiled softly, and helped the pilot up. Roderich wrapped the man's arm around his shoulder, and slowly walked down the path with him.

"Ah… I'm gonna miss that plane… Name was Kirkland. Ya don't mind if I talk do ya?" The man asked.

"No, please, continue. I enjoy hearing about these things. Tell me everything." Roderich offered a smile.

"Ah, well, my name is Alfred F. Jones, the F is for Freedom. Um, my plane was a P-51 Mustang, best damn plane in the war. It's name is Kirkland because well… There's someone I really love back in England, they gave me that knife…" Alfred trailed off, smiling.

"Is that why you needed to make sure it was okay?"

"Yep! Anyways, guess I'll just tell you pointless things about me. I'm six two, I like baseball, I'm American, duh, um… Oh! I _love cheeseburgers! _Right before I left, there was this restaurant they built called Mc'Donalds! It's _so_ good!"

The American was now talking really excitedly, but his body was still weak. It amused Roderich, and he continued listening.

"Oh, hey, how old are ya?" Alfred asked, stopping his rambling.

"Hm? Ah, I am eighteen, you?"

"I'm sixteen!"

Roderich gasped, covering his mouth with his hand.

"You have to be joking. You must, sixteen!?" He exclaimed.

"Nope! Sixteen, and still the hero! That's what the person I love said too, they're like twenty!"

"_Twenty!?_"

"Yeah, I know right?"

The two talked, well, _Alfred_ talked, and Roderich listened. When Alfred was shot down, he parachuted out of the plane, though he landed on the wreckage, causing a few burns and cuts. When they got to town, they both made extra careful maneuvers. Roderich went through some back alleys, and entered the back door of the pub.

"Eh? Feliciano, I think the back door just opened." A deep voice stated.

Roderich's blood ran cold.

"Oh no, it's just Roderich! It's fine!" The Italian replied.

He sighed in relief, and let Alfred to the bedroom, letting him sit on his bed.

"I'm going to tell Feliciano you are here. Also, do not wake him up, Lovino will murder you." Roderich said quietly, pointing to the sleeping man on the second bed.

Alfred nodded, and started to remove his boots.

Roderich walked out, momentarily freezing when he saw Gilbert chugging beer. He shook his head, interrupting Feliciano gazing at Ludwig.

"Feliciano, we have a problem…" He mumbled.

"Roderich, what happened!?" He exclaimed, now panicking.

"Oh, calm down! No, just… Come look." He bit his lip.

Feliciano frowned, nodding. He followed Roderich, and the Austrian brought him to the bedroom. Feliciano almost screamed at seeing a stranger.

"Roderich, who is that!?" He panicked, holding onto his arm.

"This is Alfred, the bomber Lieutenant Bieldsmidt shot down." Roderich mumbled, motioning to the blonde.

"He… He survived…? Are you sure this is that pilot? Ludwig said his plane was done for!" The Italian gasped.

"Trust me, my plane is _not_ comin' back…" Alfred frowned, smirking at the knife in his hands.

Feliciano shrieked. "Roderich, he has a knife! Help~!"

The American's eyes widened, and he shook his head, sticking the knife in his boot. "Sorry, it's from my love, I just wanted to hold it. I apologize for scarin' ya."

"Hm? Oh, I see. I'm Feliciano Vargas! Nice to meet you! My brother Lovino is still asleep, and he's really mean! I think you would get along though. Oh, do you want pasta? I can make some, I love pasta! Also, I can get you something to drink! Well, we only have beer as a real drink, but we have water too! And-"

"Feliciano, just go and get a glass of water, yes?" Roderich stopped the Italian's rambling.

"Okay~!" He sang, skipping out.

"Wow, he seems like a really chipper one, yeah?" Alfred grinned, cocking his head to the side.

"Yes, he is rather optimistic about things, he's a good brother." Roderich smiled softly.

"I'm surprised that one didn't wake up." The American nodded towards Lovino.

"He has gotten used to it." Roderich laughed softly.

"I have the water!" Feliciano announced, setting the glass on Roderich's bedside table.

"Thanks, Feliciano." Alfred nodded.

"Please, call me Feli~!" He sang, skipping out.

"Ah, Feliciano is such a good kid." Roderich smiled, looking to Alfred. "I'm going to go grab some things to clean you up, alright?"

"Sure."

Roderich left the room and grabbed the family emergency kit. Sure, Alfred wasn't part of the family, but he needed help. Roderich returned, Alfred had finished his water, and was staring at his boots sadly.

"Alfred…?" He said softly.

"Yeah?" He looked up, his cracked glasses catching the light.

"Would you like to talk? You look like you could get your thoughts off of your chest." Roderich offered, walking closer.

"Really? Ya will listen?" Alfred's eyes widened.

"Of course." Roderich smiled. "Maybe' we should take your specs off. Oh, I thought pilots were not allowed to wear spectacles?"

"We aren't. I kept them in the cockpit of my plane. I can see up close fine, it's just distances that screw me, ya know?" The American sighed, setting his broken glasses on the table.

"Alright, why don't you tell me what you are thinking about, and I'll get you taken care of?" Roderich smiled, sitting by Alfred, turning his bruised face to look at him.

"Well, I just miss Arth- _Arthena._ Yeah, I miss her. I really love her, I can't wait til I see her again. Hope she knows I'm okay…" Alfred smirked.

"You are sure that you will see her again?" Roderich asked, rubbing Alfred's cheek with a wet cloth.

"Of course! Even if I have to swim back to England! Nothin' will keep me from my love." He grinned, his blue eyes sparkling.

"That's very interesting. For someone so young, you sure are adamant about loving this girl." Roderich smiled softly, pulling out some bandages for Alfred's cuts.

"I know I love her, and I know I'll get back to her. I'm the hero!" Alfred proclaimed.

"Um, sorry if this sounds weird, but what does love feel like?" Roderich asked, wiping off a cut.

"Hm? Well, for me, it feels like eatin' a bunch of those Mc'Donalds burgers! Which is super good! My stomach feels all heavy, and my chest clenches up whenever I see her! Oh, and when Artie talks…" Alfred swooned, his cheeks turning pink.

"Is Artie a nickname?" Roderich nodded.

"Yep! Ah, she hates it." Alfred sighed happily. "_My name is Arthur, you git!"_

Roderich arched an eyebrow, smirking. "I thought _her_ name was Arthena?"

Alfred stammered, "Oh, psh! Yeah, I call her Arthur a lot! Ha, yeah, um…"

Oh, Roderich has him now.

"Another thing, where would a woman get a knife large enough to fit into a military boot?" Roderich smiled teasingly.

"Huh!? Um, well… Her brother is a pilot! Yep, we fly together, all the time, yeah, heh…"

"The British fly at night, Alfred."

"How would ya even _know_ that!?" He whined.

"I know a lot of things, I run a pub that the Luftwaffe enjoys invading." Roderich smirked. "It's alright, I am in no place to judge you, trust me."

"Arthur is a girl!" Alfred huffed.

"Yes, now let me see your arms." Roderich chuckled.

Alfred talked to Roderich about _Arthena that is totally a girl_ as he had his cuts cleaned and bandaged. Feliciano walked in with another glass of water for Alfred, and tapped Roderich's shoulder.

"Yes?" He answered, looking at the Italian.

"Gilly wants to talk to you!" He grinned, skipping out.

Roderich's blood ran cold, and he nodded.

"I need to go, lay down and get some rest, alright?" Roderich nodded.

"Huh? Ain't this your bed? I can take the floor, ya know." Alfred offered.

"Oh, no! I don't have to go to bed for another few hours. Just get some rest, alright?: Roderich smiled, turning on his heel and walking out of the bedroom, out to the bar.

"Oi, Roddy~!"

Roderich looked up, Ludwig was smacking Gilbert, but the albino was still grinning at him.

"Um, yes, Lieutenant?" He coughed.

"I'm sorry for earlier! It was so not awesome!" Gilbert yelled, leaning on the bar.

"He's had about thirty beers, he's getting tipsy now." Ludwig explained.

Roderich nodded, and looked back to the albino.

"I was just doing my job, you know~!? I am in the Luftwaffe, Axis Powers! Not those Allies! Psh, ally is a funny word! But _Axis_ is better, because it has the letter 'X' in it!"

"Yeah, I'm taking him back to base. He only got this drunk because he came back really sad." Ludwig sighed, gripping his brother's arm.

"Oi! Bruder, let go!" Gilbert whined.

"Nein, we're going to base."

"Bye~ Roddy~!" Gilbert grinned, waving as Ludwig dragged him away.

"Bye Feli!" Ludwig called.

"Bye!"

The two left, and Feliciano started laughing.

"Gilly is so funny when he's drunk!" He grinned.

Roderich nodded slowly, thinking of what Ludwig had said. Gilbert was only drinking because he returned sad. He sure didn't seem sad trying to slaughter Alfred… Why was he upset?

Roderich sighed, walking to his piano. He really needed to release some emotions.


	8. Chapter Eight

"Holy shit! Get the fuck out of here, you burger eating bastard!"

Roderich's eyes shot open, and he sat up. Through blurry vision, he could see Lovino repeatedly hitting Alfred.

"Ow! I'm sorry! Don't hit me, okay!?" The American whined.

"What the hell is wrong with you! You could get us killed if a German found out you were here, bastard!"

Roderich remembered, he hadn't woken Lovino up to tell him they now had an American guest.

"Lovino! Please stop! He's a guest!" Roderich exclaimed, reaching for his specs.

"And _you_! What the hell were you doing in bed with me and Feli!? You have a bed! Which this bastard was sleeping on!" The angered Italian growled, pointing to Alfred.

"Yes, Lovino, allow me to explain?" Roderich sighed, standing up.

"You have one minute, you piano bastard!"

"Lieutenant Bieldschmidt shot this bomber down, was about to kill him, I stopped him, which cased him to angrily leave. I asked if he was okay, offered him a place to heal, and here we are now."

Lovino stared at him, his face quickly turning as red as a tomato. Alfred was backing away, and Roderich stood his ground. Lovino opened his mouth, but quickly shut it.

"So you saved him from a German?" Lovino asked quietly.

"Yeah! He was totally a hero!" Alfred grinned, grinning at the Austrian.

"I suppose I was… Honestly, you're the hero here." Roderich shrugged.

"Ah, my plane got shot down! Not very heroic at all, that German would've ended me if it wasn't for ya. Guess now that I'm thinkin' 'bout it, if it wasn't for ya, I probably wouldn't be standin' here. Thanks. A lot." Alfred smiled softly, his eyes sparkling with joy.

"Roderich… That's… Well, you get the point. I understand why he is here." Lovino nodded, turning towards the American. "I apologize for hitting you. Though, you're still a burger eating bastard."

"Lovino!" Roderich hissed.

"Damn right I am!" Alfred grinned, saluting the Italian.

Lovino looked offended that he had just _accepted_ his insult. He shook his head, walking back to his bed.

"So um, what now?" Alfred whistled awkwardly.

"Um, we could figure out how to get you back to your base?"

"Well, that would probably be a good idea. Though, isn't there a whole lotta Germans in the other room? Can't have 'em hearin' that I'm here." Alfred smirked, his eyes shining yet.

"I know a place, we shall be in perfect privacy there." The Austrian nodded.

"Geez, ya talk like Artie! Always usin' giant words and speakin' with purpose." The American laughed softly.

"I do not kn-"

"Roderich! Roderich, Gilly wants to talk to you!" Feliciano sang, skipping in.

"Is that the pilot who got me?" Alfred asked.

"Yes, it is. Feliciano, tell him that if he wishes to speak to me, that he needs to meet me at the hill. I am going to help Alfred figure out how to return to his base." Roderich stated calmly.

"Alright~! Good luck!" The Italian grinned, skipping out.

"Now, grab anything you will need, I'll show you to this hill." Roderich nodded.

The American bent down and patted his boot, standing tall once more. "Check."

Roderich smiled softly, it was quite sweet how all Alfred truly needed was that knife. Roderich nodded, quickly pulling on his coat and boots.

"We shall go the same way we came." Roderich said softly, peering out of the door.

"Oi, piano bastard, want me to check the coast?" Lovino nodded.

"If you would, please. Just keep them distracted."

The angry Italian shrugged, walking out.

"_Lovi~!"_

"_Get off of me! You pasta bastard!"_

"_Ve~! You love pasta too!"_

"_Oh, be quiet!"_

Roderich chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"Seems like a lovin' enough family." Alfred laughed to himself.

"Quite, that is actually rather kind of Lovino to be speaking so calmly. Quickly, let's make our exit."

"You make it seem like a totally sweet mission!" The American beamed.

"Oh, quiet you. Let's go, quick!" Roderich ordered under his breath, stepping into the hallway, opening the back door.

The American glided out silently, and Roderich shut the door after them.

"Let's run, less chance of a German seeing you. Back alleys, follow me." Roderich kept his voice low, and he jogged between the small buildings.

"Rodger that, Captain Edelstein!"

Roderich would have laughed if this wasn't such a dire situation. Roderich felt like his legs were made of jelly by the time they reached the trail, so Alfred had to support him going up.

"Funny, huh? Yesterday I couldn't walk a bit, now it's ya who needs _my _help!" Alfred laughed loudly and happily, pulling the Austrian with him.

"Yes… Very… Amusing…" Roderich panted, out of breath from his run through the town.

They walked up the trail, Roderich being able to function his legs once more halfway up. The smell of burnt metal was still wafting in the air, making Alfred's grin slightly falter. They got to the hill, and Roderich sat himself down in the middle of the grass, sighing.

"Crap, how rude of me! Ya wanna sit on my jacket or somethin'?" Alfred exclaimed, running his fingers through his messy blonde hair.

"I'm not a twelve year old girl, Alfred. Thank you for the offer, though." Roderich smiled, making Alfred laugh.

The American plopped down next to him, and reached for his knife. The older teen couldn't help but tense up, he couldn't honestly trust people so easily, even though Alfred seemed too childish to kill.

"Hm? Did I scare ya? Don't worry, I promised Artie I wouldn't kill anyone with this knife. No worries, I just wanna hold it for a bit…" Alfred smiled softly down at the blade, eyes sparkling with adoration.

"I see… Would you like to talk a little more, before we plan how to get you back?"

"Yeah, actually. Ya don't mind?" Alfred asked, looking to Roderich.

"Please, do talk." Roderich grinned, motioning for him to begin.

"Ah, let's start off with my plane. My very first dogfight in that beauty was totally awesome! Took out three Germans after my wingman was taken out!"

Alfred kept talking, from the plane, to his friends, to _Arthena who is still totally a girl without any doubts_.

"Yeah! Then he gave me his knife! Hell, I wish I could hear that British accent once more…" Alfred sighed.

"Ahem, _he?_" Roderich smirked, amused.

"No! What!? Arthur is a girl!" Alfred exclaimed.

"Arthur is a boys' name."

"I call him Arthur! His name is Arthena!" Alfred was becoming frantic.

"How silly, it's quite fine if it's a boy. I don't mind."

"Dammit he's a girl!" Alfred whined, flailing his limbs as he yelled, knife glimmering in the sun.

"Roderich!"

Alfred and Roderich both looked up, to see an angry looking German albino running towards them, gun in hand. Alfred gritted his teeth, standing up in front of the Austrian.

"What the hell is the problem, German?"

"Get away from Roddy! You stupid American scum!" Gilbert growled, pulling the trigger on his pistol.

A loud bang emanated throughout the hills, making birds fly away, and it seemed as if the world had stopped. Things were silent, until Gilbert grinned triumphantly, slipping his gun into his belt. Alfred stood still, standing tall.

"A-Alfred…?" Roderich breathed.

Then he noticed the blood seeping through his bomber jacket. Roderich's jaw dropped, and he brought his hand to his mouth.

Alfred coughed, and his knees buckled, as he fell to the floor, releasing his final breath.

"Nobody threatens Roddy." Gilbert chuckled, walking closer to the Austrian.

"Alfred? Alfred!" Roderich gasped, shaking the teen's shoulders.

"Huh? What do you care for him for? He was pointing his knife at you!"

"That was his good luck charm! You killed him!" Roderich exclaimed, tears pricking his eyes.

"Woah, that doesn't matter! It happens! You don't know if he was going to stab you when you turned around!"

"That knife was given to him by his love! He promised to never kill anyone with it!"

"Oh, he was in love? So he's old enough to die, no worries." Gilbert shrugged, reaching his hand out for Roderich.

"No! He was _sixteen,_ Gilbert! Sixteen!" Roderich cried, tears now streaming down his face.

He looked to his hands, Alfred's ruby blood smearing on them. It was the same color as that damn German's eyes, it made him sick to his stomach. He broke out into a sob, his hands feeling numb in disgust.

"_W-was…?_ Roddy, please, calm down! _Bitte! _I'm sorry!"

"_Geh weg von mir!" _Roderich snapped, clenching his teeth.

Gilbert was at a loss for words, he was acting as if he had just killed his best friend.

"W-well, er, you only knew him for a _day_."

"That d-doesn't matter! I've seen too many people killed! Grandpa Vargas, a man of t-the Italian Resistance, and now Alfred! _You _killed him! Of all people, you! I thought I c-could trust you!"

"I thought he was attacking you!" Gilbert pleaded.

"Of course, because everyone is going to be blushing and grinning like a love-struck fool when they're about to slaughter a man!" Roderich was sobbing, leaning over the fallen pilot in distress.

"I'm sorry."

"No, y-you're not…" Roderich shook his head.

"Roderich, please."

The Austrian was now getting angry. All of the apologies were agitating him. He knew they were not true, and he had been too nice to this man, for too long. He was going to give his two cents, even at the cost of his own life.

"Why would you even want to protect me! I'm a piano player! You aren't even supposed to communicate with me! You know why, Bieldschmidt? Because you're meant to kill people like me, not protect me!" Roderich yelled, his face red with fury.

Gilbert was taken aback. "What the hell do you mean 'people like you'!?"

"I'm just a civilian right? An Austrian who lost his family? Regular man? _Nein_! I go through fear every day! Not knowing if I'm going to live or die! Not knowing if Feliciano or Lovino is going to die! I thought for _once_, that I would be able to protect someone! Of course not, because the _single_ German I trusted killed an innocent American! Go back to Germany, you Nazi!"

Gilbert's eyes were wide, that _hurt_. The thing was, Roderich wasn't done.

"You killed him, you sick son of a bitch! I thought your place to kill was the sky? What happened to that!? What am I supposed to think now? Oh yeah, that _every single one of you is a monster!_"

"Roderich-"

"Nein! Just shut up!"

"Rode-"

"What the hell could you possibly say to fix this!?"

"I did it because I…"

"What!? Because what, may I ask?"

"Because I'm in love with you."

That got the Austrian to shut his mouth pretty quickly.


End file.
